Sorry, NC drivers: The ‘Covfefe’ license plate has already been taken

It only took a matter of hours for someone to snap up the North Carolina “Covfefe” license plate.

Just after midnight Eastern time on Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” The apparent typo instantly went viral and became one of the president’s more popular posts before it was taken down after almost six hours online.

By Wednesday, the plate had already been claimed, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Abbott.

The plate was approved Thursday and will now be stamped and sent out, Abbot said. It will probably be four to six weeks before the plate hits the streets.

“Covfefe” plates have also been snagged in Virginia, New York, Maine, Nebraska, California and other states, according to media reports.

Plates with personalized characters cost an extra $30 added to the standard $36 plate fee, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles website.

The term caught fire the night Trump fired it off, as users joked and puzzled over the cryptic meaning. Social media buzzed over the post, coming up with a range of scenarios on why the president hit send on a seemingly incomplete thought.

At 6:09 a.m., Trump’s Twitter feed crackled to life, challenging the Twittersphere: “Who can figure out the true meaning of “covfefe” ??? Enjoy!”

A range of “covfefe” themed products and other memorabilia were rushed into production on Wednesday before the internet moved onto other short-lived memes.

Raleigh’s House of Swank Clothing created a “I (heart) Covfefe” T-shirt within 12 hours of the tweet hitting the web. The shirt features a drawing of a steaming mug with words stacked like the iconic “I (heart) NY” logo.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Sorry, NC drivers: The ‘Covfefe’ license plate has already been taken."