Marco Rubio's awkward 'hug' with Ivanka Trump looks worse than it sounds

Sen. Marco Rubio went in for the hug with Ivanka Trump on Tuesday, and, well, something happened. We're just not sure what. 

It wasn't quite a chummy embrace or a firm denial. Rather, as displayed in a delightfully awkward photo, Rubio approached stiff as a board while Trump stood straight, not reciprocating.

Not since the Florida Republican took a water break during his 2013 State of the Union response has he looked so stilted.

At least no one on the Internet noticed.

Just kidding. Twitter seized the moment, gleefully spreading the photo snapped by Associated Press photographer Erica Werner.

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Seemingly no one enjoyed the hysteria over the cringe-worthy social embrace more than the normally buttoned-up Rubio. As tweets piled up at his expense, he opened an "investigation" on Twitter into whether or not a hug indeed took place.

Ultimately, he deemed a hug never happened while using a fictional word made famous by President Trump.

Even Ivanka found the humor in the attempted hug. She also borrowed some phrases from her dad.

The so-called hug occurred at a Capitol Hill meeting with Trump, Rubio and a handful of other lawmakers. The group discussed promoting paid family leave and changing the tax code to better benefit families, ideas that Rubio says are part of his "pro-family tax reform."

Follow Sean Rossman on Twitter: @SeanRossman