Ivanka Trump arriving at the Capitol greeted by Sen Rubio. She's now meeting with lawmakers on child tax credit. pic.twitter.com/shhrD9kOnW
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) June 20, 2017
On Tuesday, Ivanka Trump arrived on Capitol Hill to pitch her family leave initiative — as she promised during a Republican convention speech but did not exactly practice while working for the Trump Organization — alongside Republican senators that included Marco Rubio. As this photo from AP correspondent Erica Werner revealed, the initial moments of greeting were awkward (and people embraced this) between Ivanka and the Florida senator.
Naturally, this picture only captured a brief snippet of time, perhaps a microsecond. What came before and after may never be known, but many people imagined that Rubio acted like an overeager hugger while Ivanka couldn’t be bothered. This isn’t a fair reaction, but the Internet will always do its thing. And in that spirit, Rubio began to (defensively?) tweet about an imagined U.S. intelligence investigation into the “alleged failed hug.”
Ivanka weighed in too, but not before Rubio managed a feat that was more clumsy than the hug itself…
Just left Intel comm & informed meeting 2day with @IvankaTrump blowing up twitter over alleged failed hug! Investigating. Will respond soon
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2017
We believe we have our own unclassified photographic evidence that will shed greater details on this incident.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2017
We are also attempting to acquire multi-angle video which we believe will provide greater insight into this important matter.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2017
If you were filming at the Senate carriage entrance today between 11:20-11:25 am we are seeking your assistance with an active investigation
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2017
New photo emerges providing more insight into alleged failed hug. (Faces blurred for security purposes) pic.twitter.com/GzSLe3JD3I
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 20, 2017
Only after Rubio made things worse did Ivanka chime in. She has “no comment” but also wants to assure everyone that Rubio is hug-worthy. Sadly for Rubio, nobody photographed Ivanka hugging him back, and now, the world has officially obsessed about this matter too much.
Anonymous sources say @marcorubio planned the alleged failed hug. I have no comment (but I would have hugged him anyway! 🤗) https://t.co/TChrqWsL4D
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 20, 2017