--- title: J.K Rowling Trolls Donald Trump Over Twitter Spelling Error description: J.K. Rowling just gave President Donald Trump some writing advice. canonical: https://time.com/5329971/jk-rowling-laughs-at-trump-error/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-03T23:09:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T18:55:58.000Z og:title: J.K. Rowling Trolls Trump Over Twitter Spelling Error og:description: The Harry Potter author mocked Trump and his misuse of the phrase "pour over" og:url: https://time.com/5329971/jk-rowling-laughs-at-trump-error/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteae8301e045ffe90/6988c1fc7cdbac3264d57cb5/trump-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1600 og:image:height: 900 og:image:alt: trump-rowling og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: J.K. Rowling Trolls Trump Over Twitter Spelling Error twitter:description: The Harry Potter author mocked Trump and his misuse of the phrase "pour over" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteae8301e045ffe90/6988c1fc7cdbac3264d57cb5/trump-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # J.K. Rowling Just Reminded President Trump About the Difference Between 'Pour' and 'Pore' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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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=fb0e4750-6ad6-4fd8-b7aa-26832578c5b7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: J.K. Rowling Just Reminded President Trump About the Difference Between 'Pour' and 'Pore' [Watch (HLS stream): J.K. Rowling Just Reminded President Trump About the Difference Between 'Pour' and 'Pore'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xNgSG0kb.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2018-07-04. J.K. Rowling just gave President Donald Trump some writing advice._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:55 PM UTCPublished: Jul 3, 2018 11:09 PM UTC J.K. Rowling just gave President Donald Trump some writing advice. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:55 PM UTCPublished: Jul 3, 2018 11:09 PM UTC J.K. Rowling just gave President Donald Trump some writing advice. Trump defended his tweeting style on Twitter Tuesday afternoon and admitted that he took pride in his writing ability. However, in the same sentence which called out the “Fake News” for searching for typos— he made a typo. “After having written many best selling books, and somewhat priding myself on my ability to write, it should be noted that the Fake News constantly likes to pour over my tweets looking for a mistake. I capitalize certain words only for emphasis, not b/c they should be capitalized!” Trump tweeted. Instead of “pore over,” which means to study carefully, Trump wrote “pour over.”  Twitter An hour later, Trump deleted the tweet, and tweeted out the same message with the correct word. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1014286054805987330) Rowling apparently found the original tweet hilarious, repeatedly typing “haha” in three successive replies. In one, the Harry Potter author sarcastically called him the “Gratest Writer on earth.” And she also gave Trump the correct spelling of the word. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/1014260943533027329) Rowling wasn’t the only one to correct the president. Many other Twitter users were quick to highlight the incorrect usage of “pour.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s Twitter account, which has been [increasingly used to jab at Trump and his administration](http://time.com/5101186/merriam-webster-donald-trump-shithole-countries-word-of-the-day/), also felt the need to point out the grammatical difference. > [](https://twitter.com/MerriamWebster/status/1014270254049087488) After Trump’s correction, Rowling replied again, saying that someone appeared to tell the president how to spell ‘pore.’ > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/1014290773934792704) ## Transcript [00:00] In an ironic twist when President Trump attacked the [00:03] news media over his Tweeting style, that message [00:06] contained a typo. Trump Tweeted, after having written [00:09] many best selling books and somewhat priding myself [00:12] on my ability to write, it should be noted that the fake [00:15] news constantly likes to pour over my Tweets Tweets [00:18] looking for a mistake. I capitalize certain words only [00:21] for emphasis, not because they should be capitalized. [00:24] Author JK Rowling quick to notice the president's error, [00:28] Trump's spelling of the word pore. As [00:31] Merriam- Webster snarkily clarified, pore over is to [00:33] read or study very carefully. Pore over is to make [00:37] expensive coffee, and comb over is to comb hair from [00:40] the side if the head to cover the bald spot. Rowling [00:43] quipping with her own typo, seriously, [00:46] @ realDonaldTrump is the greatest writer on Earth. [00:49] Dictionary. com and several Trump critics also calling [00:52] out Trump's tweet. The President seeming to take [00:55] note, deleted that message and retweeted a corrected [00:58] one. 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