Sarah Huckabee Sanders: White House aide red-faced over emojis

When President Donald Trump coined the word "covfefe" in a misspelled tweet, he unleashed a storm of mockery and memes online.

Now the deputy White House press secretary has drawn comparisons with her boss by tweeting a seemingly random string of emojis.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to laugh the accident off, claiming her three-year-old son had stolen her phone.

Reactions on Twitter ranged from confusion to unbridled joy.

"This is the most coherent statement to come from the Trump administration," opined journalist David Blaustein.

"Is 'lolaklkk" the next 'covfefe'?" asked tweeter Lotus Prince.

Recalling White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's defence of the covfefe tweet - "The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant" - some readers offered their own translations.

Even before Ms Huckabee Sanders explained the mishap, sympathetic parents assumed the involvement of a rogue child.

Others thought the hieroglyphics would look better as a White House press statement.

Ms Huckabee Sanders has clearly decided the original tweet is harmless, as it remains on her timeline several hours on.

But her follow-up did suggest she might be more careful who gets their tiny hands on her phone in future...