--- title: Covfefe: Memes Follow Donald Trump's Midnight Tweet description: What is covfefe, and how is it pronounced? Twitter users react to President Trump's bizarre midnight tweet canonical: https://time.com/4799053/donald-trump-covfefe-twitter/ author: Feliz Solomon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-31T08:15:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:04:42.575Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'Covfefe' Is Trending on Twitter After Trump's Strange Tweet og:description: What does it mean? og:url: https://time.com/4799053/donald-trump-covfefe-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31edfce3b43a2e36/6988cf7d656a3f57eabd0388/gettyimages-632863016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Via Twitter, Trump Threatens To Cancel Mexico Visit To White House Over Wall og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Covfefe' Is Trending on Twitter After Trump's Strange Tweet twitter:description: What does it mean? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31edfce3b43a2e36/6988cf7d656a3f57eabd0388/gettyimages-632863016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Covfefe' Is Trending on Twitter After Trump's Confounding Midnight Tweet > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c2811cc5-4685-4224-bd03-98911734b15c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'Covfefe' Conquers Twitter After Trump's Confounding Tweet [Watch (HLS stream): 'Covfefe' Conquers Twitter After Trump's Confounding Tweet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3MaQXUjE.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2017-05-31. President Trump mystified the world at precisely 12:06am Wednesday morning when he tweeted a new word._ by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon May 31, 2017 8:15 AM UTC by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon May 31, 2017 8:15 AM UTC Right around midnight on Tuesday, President Donald Trump sent a strange message to his 31 million Twitter followers. Without any clear context, the President’s [late night tweet](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/869766994899468288) read: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” That is all. Twitter users were quick to question what the fragment could possibly mean, and how the curious phrase might be read aloud. > [](https://twitter.com/PhillyD/status/869778491897552897) > [](https://twitter.com/Fusion/status/869773590517891073) Before long, #covfefe was trending on the site, as users came up with all manner of applications for the newly minted word, which hasn’t yet made it into the Merriam Webster Dictionary. > [](https://twitter.com/MerriamWebster/status/869782666572443648) Here are few more takes from across the Twittersphere: > [](https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/869778357705031680) > [](https://twitter.com/kateberlant/status/869775680791339008) > [](https://twitter.com/ayleighk/status/869831598023233536) > [](https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/869803135782461440) > [](https://twitter.com/bejohnce/status/869791346399342593) > [](https://twitter.com/zachbraff/status/869802524588466176) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4799053/donald-trump-covfefe-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4799053/donald-trump-covfefe-twitter/"},"headline":"'Covfefe' Is Trending on Twitter After Trump's Confounding Midnight Tweet","datePublished":"2017-05-31T08:15:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:04:42.575Z","description":"What is covfefe, and how is it pronounced? 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