Laurel or yanny? What does Trump hear?

After taking on the challenge of settling some of the world’s most pressing and acrimonious disputes, Donald Trump has waded into another – the yanny/laurel debate.

The self-professed arbiter-in-chief’s verdict is unlikely to settle the global controversy, however it may be evidence the famously proud US president is happy to laugh at himself.

The White House posted a video of various members of the Trump administration, including daughter Ivanka Trump and vicepresident Mike Pence, revealing what they hear the ear-teaser say.

Giving the final word from the Oval Office, Mr Trump tells the camera: “I hear covfefe”.

It is an apparent reference to an infamous May 2017 tweet from Mr Trump that contained the term – which is widely considered to be nonsense.

Ms Trump says the clip is “so clearly laurel”, while Mr Pence asks: “Who’s yanny?

“All I hear is yanny,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tells the camera, while counsellor Kellyanne Conway – known for coining the phrase “alternative facts” – answered: “It’s laurel, but I could deflect and divert to yanny if you need me to.”

Believed to have originated on Reddit and posted by YouTuber Cloe Feldman on Twitter, the computer-generated voice has become the most divisive topic since #TheDress debate in 2015.

Picture: AP. President Trump weighed in on the ear-teaser.