Watch Jimmy Kimmel Ask Average Russians What Trump’s ‘Covfefe’ Means
After President Trump challenged the nation to decode his gibberish Twitter word “covfefe,” late-night hosts have flocked to satirize the absurdity. On Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host nodded to the Trump-Russia investigation by sending “foreign correspondent” Guillermo Rodriguez to a Russian neighborhood, where he attempted to pull apart this linguistic “nesting doll” by whispering “covfefe” into strangers’ ears.
Their answers ranged from “I don’t understand” to “This is not Russian,” as Kimmel’s longtime sidekick, disguised in a fake mustache, tried out different pronunciations of the mysterious typo/word. While he mostly received puzzled expressions, a convenience store worker told him that “covfefe” means something similar to “candy” – a smart approach toward selling some candy.
Kimmel also riffed on the “covfefe” insanity in his monologue, noting that Trump’s nonsensical tweet “made Twitter great again” after a subsequent flood of memes. “Not since Phil Collins gave us the word ‘Sussudio’ has the nation been so utterly fascinated and perplexed,” he cracked. “You know a typo is bad when even Melania is like, ‘I’m pretty sure that’s not English, Donald.'”
In another Trump bit, Kimmel hammered the president on his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. The host played a clip of Trump’s speech from the Rose Garden, altered to include a devil patting the Republican on the back.
“He does have some support,” Kimmel deadpanned. “I really hope that when the ice caps melt, it ruins every rug at Mar-a-Largo. I know that’s harsh, but it’s just how I feel.”