February 21, 2020 11:56 AM UTC

Well, That Was Awkward

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• by: Colorado Pols

President Trump was in Colorado Springs on Thursday for a political rally focused mostly on himself and his various grievances (including the media and The Academy Awards), but also to help out Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) who demonstrated his allegiance earlier this month when he voted to acquit Trump on impeachment charges.

Trump has been in office for more than three years now — and Gardner has been right beside him the whole time — but until Thursday there were literally no photos of the two of them close enough to touch except for a few screenshots of the two exiting Air Force One in West Virginia back in August 2018.

So it was that Gardner’s greeting of Trump onstage Thursday was…pretty awkward. Here’s how it starts, with Gardner reaching out for a long-range handshake as though they are separated by a canal full of alligators:

From here, Gardner launches into a strange hug shake that was enjoyable to watch in the same way that it’s fun to giggle at cringeworthy reality television shows.

How do you classify this? Is it a handshake? A bro hug? A bro shake? Whatever you call it, Cory is coming in hot!

If we slow it down a little, we can see that the greeting starts as a handshake…

It isn’t until you watch this exchange in super-slow motion that you can fully understand the awkwardness. Watch below as Trump recoils in horror as Gardner attempts to turn his handshake into a hug. Marvel at how Trump yanks his arm away as though it were about to be eaten by a lion. As soon as Gardner touches his arm with his left hand, Trump jolts like Cory has an electric buzzer in his palm.

Also, the guy in the back standing next to Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Cortez) is very excited about all of this. Like, weirdly excited. (Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, perhaps?)

We hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Have a nice weekend.