Vice President Mike Pence made a big mistake during his tour of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center yesterday. He touched a piece of critical space flight hardware in the Orion clean room, despite the fact that there was a sign that clearly read, “DO NOT TOUCH.” So, of course, the photo is now a meme.
The original photo, taken by Mike Brown of Reuters, has gotten a life of its own online. Some people are simply making jokes about unwanted “touching” from Pence, while others have accomplished more elaborate photoshops—like the person who added President Trump’s infamous tennis photo.
Reddit even has a Photoshop Battle going on. So if you’re inspired to create your own version of Pence’s weird NASA encounter, please share it with us in the comments.
I just wanted to be a part of that moment all right pic.twitter.com/MZWo6m2I9N
— Peter Durfee (@Durf) July 7, 2017
Suddenly I understand why he won't have dinner with a woman who isn't his wife. pic.twitter.com/Vk2BLDRadR
— shauna (@goldengateblond) July 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/883174104177758210
https://twitter.com/embed/status/883212657645371392
https://twitter.com/embed/status/883148414443167745
U can't touch th—HEY WHAT THE HELL MIKE pic.twitter.com/PQluMoc0YW
— Peter Durfee (@Durf) July 7, 2017
— Felis Hypnos ΘΔ 🏳️⚧️ (@SwirlyDaze) July 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/883138788318433280
This isn’t the first time that members of the Trump administration have inspired a meme. From the glowing orb in Saudi Arabia, to those bizarre photos of the Trump family at the Vatican, it seems like the entire Trump presidency is going to be fodder for photoshop jokesters.
Update, 3:44pm: Vice President Pence just tweeted a joke, blaming Marco Rubio (who was standing behind him) for daring him to touch the NASA equipment.
Sorry @NASA…@MarcoRubio dared me to do it! pic.twitter.com/qIYtKOPyFh
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) July 7, 2017
And now he’s doing his own memes, which I’m sure were in no way focus grouped all day:
Okay…so this isn't exactly the first time this has happened. pic.twitter.com/6Y7b3UlJXe
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) July 7, 2017
Make it stop, please.
Update, 3:58pm: And here’s a statement we just got from NASA:
The ‘do not touch’ signs are there as a day-to-day reminder, including the one visible on the titanium Forward Bay Cover for the Orion spacecraft. Procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is okay. Otherwise, the hardware would have had a protective cover over it like the thermal heat shield, which was nearby
