The leader of the free world hasn’t been greeted like this before.

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— Doug Mills (@dougmillsnyt) July 9, 2014

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President Barack Obama has become the latest victim of horse-heading, a harmless prank meme where its perpetrators wear a wide-eyed horse mask in inappropriate social situations. And what greater irreverence than donning the mask for the Commander-in-Chief! 

According to the press pool, “One onlooker wore a large horse head, but it’s unclear what message he hoped to convey to the president.” Silly journalists, there is but one “message” in horse-heading: for the lulz.

Jewel Samad of Agence France-Presse got a clearer angle of the exchange:

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While President Obama must have been quite confused, the horse-header may have lifted his spirits. Earlier in the day, several high-profile Democrats from Colorado, including Governor John Hickenlooper and Senator Mark Udall, declined to attend his Denver speech.