Americans were shocked and surprised that Terry Gene Bollea, better known by his professional wrestling name Hulk Hogan, spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Thursday.
The 70-year-old sports entertainment legend took to the stage in Milwaukee yesterday evening to issue a fiery speech in support of former President Donald Trump. Hogan's appearance included all of his signature moves, from muscle flexing to the eventual removal of his shirt.
Weirder yet, after, Trump gave him an air kiss from a distance.
While those in attendance responded with thunderous applause, many others felt that Hogan's display instead represented the current state of U.S. politics: theatrical and bizarre.
"It's actually pretty genius of the RNC to have Hulk Hogan speak because he underscores the fact that American politics is, at root, WWE wrestling," X user Amanda Fortini wrote.
Numerous references were also made to "Idiocracy," the 2006 comedy film that depicts a future America run by a president who shares many similarities with Hogan.
"Idiocracy is almost actualized," David Sirota added.
Controversies from Hogan's past were also brought back up, including his repeated use of the N-word over the years. In just one example, Hogan was fired from the WWE after audio of a racist rant of his went public.
The account PatriotTakes highlighted CNN’s coverage of Hulk Hogan being fired from WWE for using the N-word
Hogan was also accused of hypocrisy after footage of him previously mocking Trump began circulating online as well. In the clip, Hogan refers to Trump as "not cool" before accusing him of turning his back on those he's done business with.
Yet Hogan's appearance, and the reaction to it online, wouldn't be complete without Trump. And sure enough, Trump delivered.
After Hogan finished his speech, Trump blew him a kiss, much to the confusion of many online.
"Trump blowing Hulk Hogan a kiss is one of the greatest 10 seconds ever," the user meme bastard wrote.
The RNC ended with Trump accepting the presidential nomination from his party and delivering what some have felt was a combative and divisive speech. Trump's public appearance comes just days after he survived an assassination attempt while speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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