President Donald Trump appears eager to turn the page away from his public spat with Elon Musk, but in his haste he fired off a perplexing post that called to mind his infamous "covefe" tweet.
The president broke with Musk on Thursday over his criticism of the Republican budget bill, which set off an escalating series of social media attacks on one another, but the following morning he started the day with a complaint about newspaper polling before turning his attention to so-called kitchen table issues.
"Groceries, gasoline, energy," he posted on Truth Social at 7:31 a.m. EST, with a stray comma at the end of the three-word phrase.
However, like his widely mocked and memed May 31, 2017, tweet – "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" – that post was later deleted, albeit within minutes, rather than six hours later, and replaced with a bit more comprehensive and appropriately punctuated statement.
"Prices are down, income is up, our Border is closed, gasoline is CHEAP, inflation is DEAD — Our Country is BOOMING!" Trump posted at 7:45 a.m. EST. "Companies are pouring into America like never before!"
CNN's Dana Bash spoke with Trump on Friday morning, and she reported that he wanted to change the day's storyline to the economy instead of his feud with Musk, although she noted that he seemingly jabbed his estranged ally during their brief phone chat, and he continued cheerleading moments after hanging up with her.
"AMERICA IS HOT!" Trump posted at 8:58 a.m. EST. "SIX MONTHS AGO IT WAS COLD AS ICE! BORDER IS CLOSED, PRICES ARE DOWN. WAGES ARE UP!"
Trump's post was once again ridiculed online.
Former NBC exec Mike Sington chimed in with, "Something seems to have happened to Trump in the middle of a post."
Conservative attorney and anti-Trump active George Conway added, "He took a covfefe break."
