Vice President Mike Pence went on a tour of NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. Here he is with a piece of "critical space flight hardware."
Wait, what does that sign say?
C'mon dude, really?
It says pretty clearly, "do not touch."
Dammit Pence!
People on Twitter soon noticed the photo, and it became an instant meme to troll the VP with.
@flyosity @tristanwalker
Even the critical space flight hardware was upset.
@flyosity we are all thinking the same as critical-space-flight-hardware i think.
Many people couldn't believe how wild and rebellious Pence has become since becoming VP.
@flyosity @snbbloopers
Dayum.
@VP @NASA_Orion @NASAKennedy
Show them who is boss!
@StefanMolyneux 🤔
Others had more interesting takes on the moment.
After six months at Trump's side, Mike Pence quietly envies the capsule for its journey to the cold, tranquil empti… https://t.co/ylQ4qmcXnR
He WOULD touch.
Pence looked left. Then right. Mother wasn't anywhere around. He smiled to himself. He would touch
And of course, Spongebob had to get involved.
As did the ~orb moment~.
I just wanted to be a part of that moment all right
For the record, a NASA spokesman told BuzzFeed News the sign is there "as a day-to-day reminder."
"Procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is okay," Bob Jacobs said. "Otherwise, the hardware would have had a protective cover over it like the thermal heat shield, which was nearby."
Pence responded Friday to the ~controversy~ by blaming the whole thing on Sen. Marco Rubio, who was with him.
Sorry @NASA...@MarcoRubio dared me to do it!
Although, he tweeted, "this isn't exactly the first time this has happened."
Okay...so this isn't exactly the first time this has happened.
Keep doing you, Veep.
U can't touch th—HEY WHAT THE HELL MIKE