On the evening of May 30, the internet lost its collective mind: President Donald Trump, known for tweeting first and spell-checking later, dropped a hilarious typo: “covfefe.”
Make America Covfefe Again pic.twitter.com/7ugyN28nZb
— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) May 31, 2017
Don’t ask me what it means. I have no fucking idea, and it doesn’t really matter; everyone makes typos in their tweets, even if those tweets now carry the weight of U.S. government policy behind them.
But to the horde of journalists desperate for a reprieve from the crushing scandal and outrage cycle that’s plagued the Trump administration since inauguration, “covfefe” represents a chance to both blow off steam and put on their stand-up comedian hat — something political journalists, with few exceptions, do atrociously.
Don’t get me wrong, as far as typos go, “covfefe” is pretty great, the modern descendent of “dayenu” for a civil society now driven by garbage people and their garbage tweets about garbage. And given Trump’s reported propensity to blurt out classified information when it suits him, I couldn’t help but wonder: Did our commander-in-chief just let slip a secret new DARPA program, or some sort of new command focused solely on shitposting?
I asked Task & Purpose readers. Their responses made me giggle — which, in the end, is all anyone ever wanted out of “covfefe”: a moment to forget the American garbage cycle.
Here are some tweets. Leave me alone.
https://twitter.com/MessyFingers/status/869922410451136512
Counter Overweight Veterans Facilitating Extra Flexible Enlistment
— Kangz the Conqueror (@NineOneSixGod) May 31, 2017
Concealed
— MamaPapajoles (@MamaPapajoles) May 31, 2017
Operational
Vehicle
Firing
Efficient
Flames
Everywhere
https://twitter.com/PunctualHipster/status/869922712868839425Conjure Orc Violent Fist Ether for Elves
— Pad Rock (@padrock) May 31, 2017
Cyber Operations Viper Force Europe/Far East
— Sam (@sflicht) May 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/MrAnansi/status/869929958205923328COmmanders Vehicle Forward Effectivity Fire Engagement
— Robert Sanchez (@RealRJSanchez) May 31, 2017
Combined Operational Variable Frequency Enhanced Force Element
— Russell (@FreckledXennial) May 31, 2017
https://twitter.com/VigoCarpathian1/status/869920825453023232Continuity
— Stephen W. Hudson (@StephenWHudson1) May 31, 2017
Operations
VIP
Forward
Emergency
Force
Extraction
Honestly, this one seems the most plausible:
Combat Operational Vehicle For Expeditionary Field Environments
— Francis Luppi-Aquila (@frankaquila88) May 31, 2017
Then again:
it’s clearly a cheat code from an early 90’s video game
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 31, 2017