Donald Trump blowing a kiss at Hulk Hogan during the Republican National Convention has sparked mockery and raised eyebrows online.
The wrestling icon—whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea—spoke at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday, praising the former president through a series of wrestling metaphors.
As Hogan wrapped up his speech and began to exit the stage, Trump waved at the retired wrestler, before blowing him a kiss. A clip of the moment was shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, where it quickly went viral.
“Trump blowing a kiss to Hulk Hogan … this cult is soooooo weird,” user @WUTangKids captioned the snippet, which has received over 160,000 views.
Trump’s team has been emailed for comment.
Others thought Hogan had “brought down the house” during his appearance, after pointing to Trump in the audience, and describing the Republican candidate in November’s general election as “my hero” and a “Gladiator.”
The 70-year-old also called Trump and his vice presidential pick JD Vance “the greatest tag team of my life,” claiming the Republican politician is going to “bring America back together.”
While discussing the assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday, Hogan ripped off his shirt to reveal a vest top that read “Trump-Vance 2024.”
Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend when gunman Thomas Crooks open-fired with an AR15-style rifle. Trump was struck in his right ear before being rushed offstage by Secret Service agents. One person died and two were critically injured in the shooting.
A spokesperson for Trump later said the 78-year-old was “fine” after being assessed at a hospital.
“When they took a shot at my hero, and they tried to kill the next president of the United States, enough was enough,” Hogan shouted, causing the crowd to go wild.
“I said, ‘Let Trumpamania run wild brother, let Trumpamania rule again, let Trumpamania make America great again.'”
As the crowd shouted “U.S.A.,” Hogan showered more praise on the business mogul, calling him “the biggest patriot” and claiming “we never had it better than the Trump years.”
“He’s going to win in November, and we’re all going to be champions again when he wins,” Hogan said. “When he’s back in our White House, America is going to start winning again.”
Trump, still wearing a bandage over his wounded ear, smiled and clapped along with the audience, before blowing his air-kiss to Hogan as the wrestler left the stage to rapturous applause.
Hulk Hogan rips off his shirt at the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Inset: Donald Trump. The former president blew Hogan a kiss.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News
But several more users also found the gesture odd, with user Harry Sisson writing: “EW EW EW!”
“Trump blowing a kiss to Hulk Hogan is such a weirdo behavior,” agreed @_simplyxme.
“Hulk hogan doing whatever the hell that was and Trump responded by blowing him a kiss LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOWTF,” posted @Annie_Wu_22, alongside freeze frames of Hogan ripping off his shirt and Trump air-kissing.
However, others online applauded Hogan’s speech, with @hodgettwins saying the entertainer “brought the house down.”
“Hulk Hogan perfectly displays how 100+ million Trump supporters have been feeling ever since our leader got shot,” said @WarClandestine.
“Hulk Hogan absolutely tore it up at the RNC,” said @stillgray. “I’ll pick Hulk Hogan over whatever the heck the radical woke left Democrats have to offer.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.