§86 —
On covfefe
Democrat
57 STATES
The shelf has two sides. 57 states (n., 2008): the size of the United States, per a Democratic candidate in Beaverton, Oregon, on May 9, 2008: "I've now been in 57 states. I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it" 1. Audited as spoken, that is 60. PolitiFact notes he sounded tired 1. In September 2018 the author of covfefe filed a complaint on the entry: "Can you imagine if I said that" 2. He could imagine. He had notes.
The Democrats also filed on covfefe. Twelve days after the tweet, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois introduced the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement Act, the COVFEFE Act, to make presidential social media a presidential record 3. So a typo reached a congressional bill as a backronym. No press secretary said a small group knows which seven states. The typo is bipartisan. Standing at a podium behind it is not.
Sources
- "I've now been in 57 states. I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it" — Beaverton, Oregon, 9 May 2008 — PolitiFact, 30 November 2011 ↑
- "When President Obama said that he has been to '57 States,' very little mention in Fake News Media ... Can you imagine if I said that" — The Hill, 15 September 2018 ↑
- Rep. Mike Quigley introduced the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement (COVFEFE) Act on 12 June 2017 to add "social media" to the Presidential Records Act — The Hill, reprinted by Rep. Quigley's office ↑
Republican
COVFEFE
covfefe (n., 2017): the sixth word of a sentence about the press, and the last. Etymology disputed. First attested at 12:06 a.m. on May 31, 2017: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." Deleted about six hours later. FactCheck.org's entry: likely "coverage," mistyped, sent unfinished. The author's own entry, posted afterward: "Who can figure out the true meaning of 'covfefe' ???" 1.
The press secretary was asked that day whether anyone should be concerned. He said no, and supplied the citation: "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant" 2. The group was not named. Six days later the same podium ruled on the genre: "they are considered official statements by the president of the United States" 3. The ruling carved out no exception for the unfinished. Seven months on, the same account issued another: "I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his" 4. The definition stays with the small group. The button stays with the man.
Sources
- Tweeted at 12:06 a.m. on 31 May 2017, deleted six hours later, likely a mistyped "coverage"; the follow-up tweet asking who can figure out the true meaning — FactCheck.org, June 2017 ↑
- "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant" — Sean Spicer, off-camera briefing — Yahoo News, 31 May 2017 ↑
- "The president is president of the United States, so they are considered official statements by the president of the United States" — Sean Spicer, 6 June 2017 — NBC News ↑
- "I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his" — tweet of 2 January 2018 — KTVU ↑
“I keep a dictionary by the phone, the big one, my wife's mother left it to us. It goes from "covey" to "cow." There's no page for it. So I went to the press secretary, and he says the president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant. Well, fine. That's a source. Sorry, one thing before you go. That was more than nine years ago, and I'm sure they're busy people. Has anybody called them?”— Lou
“Covfefe. Everybody remembers the word. Nobody remembers the second part. Six hours it sat up there, and when the reporters asked why, a normal outfit says typo, go home. This outfit says "the president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant." A small group. Who's in it? Do they meet? Then six days later they tell you every one of these is an official statement of the president. You know what that makes covfefe? Policy. And seven months on, the same account is telling North Korea about his button. They call that communications. I call it a chain of command.”
“Covfefe was a complete thought, privately understood by the relevant stakeholders, and the fact that it has gone unexplained for nine years only shows how well the small group has kept the president's confidence.”