Nobody Blows Out Birthday Candles Like Mitt Romney

This morning, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) showed off a truly unusual technique for blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

To celebrate his 72nd birthday, Romney’s team surprised the former governor of Massachusetts with a multilayered cake made out of his “favorite snack,” Twinkies. In a Twitter video filmed by a staffer, Romney looks genuinely thrilled to be receiving such a whimsical treat, telling his crew, “Oh my goodness, what I’ve always wanted — holy cow!” The video then takes a bizarre turn as the former presidential candidate starts picking up the candles and blowing them out, one by one. After the flames are extinguished, the senator moves each candle from his right hand to his left hand, in a slow maneuver that completely undercuts the dramatic presentation of his surprise Twinkie cake.

While this video was surely shared on Twitter in a move to show off the politician’s softer side, it only makes Romney look like a robot who doesn’t understand the festive traditions of his human counterparts. As writer Kurt Andersen suggests, this clip really looks like something out of Parks and Recreation or a Christopher Guest mockumentary. This could also, perhaps, be a deleted scene from Veep. Behold:

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