Donald Trump mocked for 'Smocking Gun' typo in tweet

Internet searches for 'smocks' surge after latest Twitter gaffe

US President Donald Trump has attracted derision for his spelling errors on Twitter. AP

US President Donald Trump, who is no stranger to Twitter, is again finding out that even in the raw medium of social media, typos and grammar mistakes are not easily forgiven or forgotten.

Mr Trump's most recent social-media gaffe came while he was venting about the ongoing investigation into alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

“Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun,” he wrote and repeated a second time, clearly intending to write the popular phrase “smoking gun” instead.

Legendary actor Mia Farrow was among the Twitter users who pounced on the error, showing an image of a gun made out of cloth "smocking".

Prominent US columnist Connie Schultz tweeted a childhood picture of herself wearing a smock.

Even dictionary company Merriam-Webster took a turn at poking fun at Mr Trump's mistake, tweeting "Today in Spellcheck Can't Save You", before showing the definition of "smocking".

Perhaps not surprisingly, all the Twitter references to “smocking” and “smocks” sent people searching the internet to find out more about the garments.

Google searches for the word spiked:

Mr Trump has not acknowledged the typo, instead continuing to criticise the ongoing Russia investigation and hitting out at the Democrats.

It was not the first time he has come under scrutiny for spelling mistakes.

Last year, while criticising media coverage of his presidency, Mr Trump used the word "covfefe" instead of "coverage", inspiring an onslaught of mockery and memes.

Unlike the “smocking gun” mistake, however, the “covfefe” tweet was later deleted.

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