Donald Trump sparks memes and jokes with 'Smocking Gun' tweet

From the president who brought us "covfefe", now we have the "Smocking Gun".

Donald Trump used the phrase in his latest series of tweets attacking the investigation into possible collusion between his presidential campaign team and Russian officials.

He tweeted on Monday: “Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun...No Collusion.”

Google saw a spike in searches for the term "smocking" after the president's tweet and it also began trending on Twitter.

As the Twitter account for Merriam-Webster Dictionary pointed out, "smocking" is a type of embroidery made of many small folds sewn into place.

Many people took to social media to mock the president's apparent mistake.

Mr Trump's tweets came as he faces escalating criminal investigations in Washington and New York examining not only whether his campaign coordinated with the Kremlin but also whether he illegally bought the silence of two women who claim they had affairs with him.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have for the first time connected the president to a federal crime, accusing him of orchestrating hush-money payments during the campaign by his longtime lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to a porn star and a former Playboy model. Cohen is due to be sentenced this week.

Meanwhile special counsel Robert Mueller's office detailed lies they say former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort told them even after he agreed to plead guilty and cooperate.

And prosecutors are preparing for the sentencing hearing next week of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who lied to the FBI about his Russian contacts.

The president's "Smocking Gun" tweet reminded many people of his use of the word "covfefe" on social media last year.

In a late-night tweet in May 2017, Mr Trump simply wrote "Despite the constant negative press covfefe" with no further explanation, leaving many to ponder the possible cryptic meaning of the word...or mock the typo.