Journalists, lawmakers and a famous author piled on Donald Trump Saturday morning after the president-elect misspelled the word “unprecedented” in a tweet condemning China for stealing a U.S. Navy underwater drone this week in international waters.
“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters – rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented [sic] act,” Trump tweeted early Saturday morning.
About an hour and a half later he deleted the tweet and replaced it with the correct spelling.
But that did not stop Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., from calling on a “select committee” to investigate Trump’s “understanding of foreign policy and homophones.”
I’m calling for a select committee to investigate the President-elect’s understanding of foreign policy and homophones. pic.twitter.com/5xKgHtcA1w
— Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) December 17, 2016
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took a more serious tone, responding to Trump’s tweet by saying, “This is madness. A 7:30am Saturday escalation of diplomatic crisis w China via Twitter, w misspelling.”
This is madness. A 7:30am Saturday escalation of diplomatic crisis w China via Twitter, w misspelling. https://t.co/p9QPZsr2yv
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 17, 2016
Olivia Nuzzi, a political reporter for the Daily Beast, said, “It took the president elect nearly an hour and a half to learn to spell ‘unprecedented.'” She added, “‘Unpresidented'” isn’t a word but if it was, I think I know what it would mean.”
MSNBC used the spelling gaffe to promote its Saturday programming.
“Ready for an #unpresidented edition of #AMJoy? Just kidding…” wrote the official Twitter account for “AM Joy” with Joy Reid.
Ready for an #unpresidented edition of #AMJoy? Just kidding…@JoyAnnReid brings you another great edition of @amjoyshow coming up 10aE! pic.twitter.com/hEWznE3H3z
— AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) December 17, 2016
Other journalists took a more serious stance on the repercussions of a president-elect idly tweeting and misspelling words.
“Trump spelling actually is a serious indicator of no attention to detail or accuracy in anything he says or does,” wrote MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell.
Trump spelling actually is a serious indicator of no attention to detail or accuracy in anything he says or does.
— Lawrence O’Donnell (@Lawrence) December 17, 2016
Blake Hounshell, editorial director for digital at Politico, said the typo matters because it “suggests the tweet was not vetted or done in consultation with any advisers.”
Why the typo matters: It suggests the tweet was not vetted or done in consultation with any advisers.
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) December 17, 2016
Not everyone in the media panicked after the tweet.
Trump mega-supporter and online radio host Bill Mitchell stated simply, “I hate typos, lol,” which is shorthand for “laugh out loud.”
I hate typos, lol. 🙂
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) December 17, 2016
The editors at Merriam-Webster Dictionary, who typically tweet a “Word of the Day,” teased the president-elect, writing “Good morning! The #WordOfTheDay is…not ‘unpresidented’. We don’t enter that word. That’s a new one.”
Good morning! The #WordOfTheDay is…not ‘unpresidented’. We don’t enter that word. That’s a new one. https://t.co/BJ45AtMNu4
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 17, 2016
Trump’s typo also caught the attention of “Harry Potter” author, J.K. Rowling.
“TrumpSpellCheck™️Unpresidentedly effective,” the author tweeted to her 8.86 million followers.
TrumpSpellCheck™️
Unpresidentedly effective. pic.twitter.com/9leL9aIei1— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 17, 2016

