Everyone knows Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are really close. He places great trust in her advice and she's said to be his favorite child.
Which is perhaps why, despite his current hatred for CNN, he tweeted this on Monday night, urging fans to tune in to a CNN special report on Ivanka.
At 9:00 P.M. @CNN, of all places, is doing a Special Report on my daughter, Ivanka. Considering it is CNN, can't imagine it will be great!
But Trump also has another daughter named Tiffany!
So, when you look again you see this tweet actually contains some unintended grammatical shade.
At 9:00 P.M. @CNN, of all places, is doing a Special Report on my daughter, Ivanka. Considering it is CNN, can't imagine it will be great!
Can't see it? Let New York Times Books editorial director Radhika Jones help you out.
Editor Me: that comma after "daughter" is sad for Tiffany. https://t.co/lnDXZ6Ph8e
That's right: The comma after "daughter" implies Trump only has one daughter and her name is Ivanka.
If you've heard the musical Hamilton, it's kind of like in that song "Take A Break" when Hamilton's sister-in-law, Angelica, wonders whether a simple comma meant she was dear or the person who was most dear to him:
[ANGELICA]
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago
I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning. Did you intend this?
One stroke and you’ve consumed my waking days
It says:
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
“My dearest Angelica”
[ANGELICA]
With a comma after “dearest.” You’ve written
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
“My dearest, Angelica.”
Reacting on Twitter, people felt sorry for Tiffany.
Aside from everything else, I expect that Tiffany is really digging that comma after 'daughter.' https://t.co/kb8tmzFiXg
"The cruelest comma," wrote the editorial director of GQ magazine.
@radhikajones the cruelest comma
Maybe Trump himself didn't tweet it?!
@MGrossman92 @cheeseheadlucy @realDonaldTrump Ivanka probably tweeted that herself -- because the comma.
In summary, punctuation matters.
@jondanziger @Fritinancy @realDonaldTrump @CNN OMG! Punctuation!!
:(
