Dogs ‘endorse’ Bloomberg in campaign ad after video captures an odd greeting with pup

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has released a new campaign ad of dogs “endorsing” him for president, after Twitter users made fun of him for an awkward dog interaction.

The new ad depicts various New Yorkers as dogs saying phrases such as “I like Mike,” and “Mike’s not afraid of the NRA.”

Bloomberg posted video of the ad online Wednesday with the hashtag #DogsFurMike and the caption, “Dog people get me. Dogs too.”

The new ad comes after CBS News reporter Nicole Sganga captured video of the candidate meeting a dog while campaigning in Burlington, Vermont. In the video, Bloomberg could be seen grabbing and shaking the pup’s snout before patting it on the head.

Some Twitter users responded by calling the interaction “weird,” and wondered if he had ever met a dog before. Others came to his defense, saying the video shows the candidate is comfortable with the four-legged pets.

It appears Bloomberg is taking the dog criticism in stride. His new ad had more than 100,000 views one hour after it was posted.