Ouch — that’s got to hurt.
Many were poking fun at Senator Marco Rubio and Ivanka Trump after an Associated Press photo surfaced of the Florida Republican attempting to give the first daughter a hug.
The photo, taken Tuesday, captures Rubio going in for a warm greeting while President Trump’s daughter stands with an impassive expression on her face, her hands clamped firmly down at her sides.
The photo also led Rubio to joke that his office was “investigating” and that “we believe we have our own unclassified photographic evidence that will shed greater details on this incident.”
The whole thing apparently started after AP photographer Erica Werner tweeted the photo from her official account Tuesday around 11:30 a.m.
Advertisement
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
Widespread mocking quickly ensued.
Ivanka Trump being greeted at the Capitol by Marco Rubio...what's going on here? pic.twitter.com/HNqpyBFVqE
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 20, 2017
Well, this is awkward. Ivanka, perhaps you're taking "statuesque" a bit too literally. pic.twitter.com/OMgvHJZzRh
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) June 20, 2017
Rubio, for his part, tried to get ahead of the story by addressing the awkward run-in on his official Twitter account, joking at one point that his office was “attempting to acquire multi-angle video which we believe will provide greater insight into this important matter.”
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
For what it’s worth, several other photos from Tuesday showed the pair appearing to get along quite swimmingly.
The first daughter was at the Capitol to attend a meeting led by Rubio that included talks about expanding the child tax credit, paid family leave, and other family-focused tax policies.
Just left a productive meeting on the Hill to discuss issues affecting American working families, including childcare & paid family leave!
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 20, 2017
Rubio said the gathering was spurred by a talk he had with Trump more than a month ago, calling it a ‘‘first step’’ for Republicans to discuss tax policies for working families.
Ivanka Trump has stressed that paid parental leave and support for child care costs are priorities of the administration, but she has signaled flexibility on the approach. Advancing parental leave in the Republican-controlled Congress is considered highly unlikely, but winning some family-oriented tax changes is possible.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Advertisement