--- title: Donald Trump: Nominee Air Kisses Mike Pence at RNC description: Donald Trump air kissed Mike Pence and the internet is loving it. canonical: https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-21T19:20:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:35.927Z og:title: That Awkward Moment Donald Trump Tried to Kiss Mike Pence og:description: Access to Pence's forehead denied og:url: https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c858f42571cde8d/69889e9b0a4a227b8e9ca8ff/gettyimages-578136104-e1469121467855.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Republican National Convention: Day Three og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: That Awkward Moment Donald Trump Tried to Kiss Mike Pence twitter:description: Access to Pence's forehead denied twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c858f42571cde8d/69889e9b0a4a227b8e9ca8ff/gettyimages-578136104-e1469121467855.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Losing Its Mind Over Donald Trump and Mike Pence's Air Kiss Fail > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=fa5d2370-c92b-4cc2-b41b-8ad0b21284ca&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 21, 2016 7:20 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures toward Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures toward Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. Alex Wong-Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 21, 2016 7:20 PM UTC [Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4417061/donald-trump-wrong-about-nato/) failed attempt to kiss his running mate on the forehead at the Republican convention has lit up the Internet. The awkward moment, perhaps due to a collision of New York City social conventions and typical Midwestern reserve, started when Trump went for a handshake with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. Trump then moved in for a friendly kiss on Pence’s forehead, but the Indiana Governor turned away at that exact moment, resulting in the dreaded air kiss. Still, Trump remained cool, settling instead for his [signature pointing move](http://time.com/4413512/republican-convention-donald-trump-pointing/) and giving Pence a thumb’s up.  Online, people are obsessed with the moment, comparing it to a _Harry Potter_ power exchange. > [](https://twitter.com/kevingchristy/status/755965722635804673) > [](https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/755975127800672256) > [](https://twitter.com/mayallison14/status/756129630696968192) > [](https://twitter.com/natalielram/status/755965120224735233) > [](https://twitter.com/JennWyckoff/status/755964741818863617) > [](https://twitter.com/feministabulous/status/755970076130566144) > [](https://twitter.com/fabnsab/status/755965473938866177) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Losing Its Mind Over Donald Trump and Mike Pence's Air Kiss Fail","datePublished":"2016-07-21T19:20:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:35.927Z","description":"Access to Pence's forehead denied","url":"https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","viral","News","Viral Videos","Donald Trump","Mike Pence","Republican National Convention"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c858f42571cde8d/69889e9b0a4a227b8e9ca8ff/gettyimages-578136104-e1469121467855.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c858f42571cde8d/69889e9b0a4a227b8e9ca8ff/gettyimages-578136104-e1469121467855.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican National Convention: Day Three","caption":"Republican National Convention: Day Three","creditText":"Alex Wong-Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4417439/donald-trump-mike-pence-kiss/","name":"The Internet Is Losing Its Mind Over Donald Trump and Mike Pence's Air Kiss Fail"}}]}] ```