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MPWMost Powerful Women

Hillary Clinton Mocks Donald Trump With a ‘Covfefe’ Barb in New Twitter Feud

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
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Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 1, 2017, 6:35 AM ET

Just when you thought the ‘covfefe’ party had mercifully ended, Hillary Clinton showed up late, ready to get in on the action.

The former Democratic presidential candidate referenced covfefe—an apparent typo Donald Trump tweeted (and then deleted) early Wednesday morning—after the president criticized Clinton’s assessment of her election loss.

Trump tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that “crooked” Hillary Clinton “blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC.”

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His message was an apparent response to the candid remarks Clinton made at Recode’s 2017 Code Conference. The former secretary of state, whom Trump upset in the 2016 presidential election, told Recode‘s Kara Swisher that she took full responsibility for every decision made on the campaign trail. That admission came with a big caveat:

“[B]ut that’s not why I lost,” she said. “I think it’s important we learn the real lessons of this last campaign.”

She then unloaded on other factors that she said were to blame: unfair press coverage of her speeches to Goldman Sachs and her email server, a data machine from the Democratic National Committee that she described as “bankrupt” and “on the verge of insolvency,” a sense among supporters that her win was assured, and an unprecedented campaign of fake news and social engineering on Facebook that was orchestrated by Russian agents and an army of bots.

Trump took issue with her assessment, reviving the “crooked” nickname he’d used against his rival during the presidential contest.

Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017

Clinton responded, using the nonsensical word—”covfefe”—Trump had referenced earlier in the day in a since-deleted tweet that read: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”

People in covfefe houses shouldn't throw covfefe. https://t.co/M7oK5Z6qwF

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2017

Clinton’s tweet piled on the wave of memes that flooded the Internet following Trump’s errant posting as online commenters tried to make sense of the cryptic message.

Now that Clinton has belatedly weighed in, let’s hope the covfefe chapter of the nation’s history can finally end.

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
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Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

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