Donald Trump has unleashed a tsunami of internet snark after tweeting out praise for his self-declared writing abilities. The tweet, which included a rather untimely typo, even caught the eye of Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
The US president, who has revolutionized the Art of the Tweet, took aim at the “Fake News” media and its preoccupation with “pouring over” his tweets in search of grammatical errors or typos.
“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,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “I capitalize certain words only for emphasis, not b/c they should be capitalized!”
The tweet mysteriously disappeared shortly after it was posted, and was replaced with a nearly identical message – with one glaring change. But by then, the damage had already been done, with even Merriam-Webster weighing in:
Others pointed out that Trump’s “best-selling book” – The Art of the Deal – had actually been ghostwritten by journalist Tony Schwartz. The irony was certainly not missed on best-selling author J.K. Rowling, who flooded Twitter with endless haha-ing in response to Trump’s bold boasting.
Some believe the tweet was a textbook case of trolling – but this theory fails to explain why Trump deleted the original tweet.
Although Twitter is not known for its literary eloquence, Trump has arguably tested the limits of this all-too-imperfect medium. In one notable example from May, he tweeted out that “Melanie is feeling and doing really well” after her hospital stay – apparently referring to his wife, Melania.
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