As Twitchy reported earlier Tuesday, Sen. Mitt Romney turned 72, and his staff brought him a Twinkie cake. A lot of people found it odd the way Romney picked up each candle separately and blew it out, but TMZ got to the bottom of it.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: @tmz asked the question all Americans are asking: Why does Mitt blow out his candles like that? The answer: "I have a bit of a cold and I didn't want to spray my germs all over the twinkies for everybody else to eat!" Video: https://t.co/WesWwAWJu8 — Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) March 12, 2019

Twitchy favorite @redsteeze said 2012 called and it wants its Romney coverage back:

Man this takes me back to 2012. https://t.co/Widf5p0LeU — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 13, 2019

"What about your CAAAAAAANDLES?!" — jon gabriel (@exjon) March 13, 2019

“We asked about Romney’s doctor diagnosing him with a cold and couldn’t get a response.” — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 13, 2019

“Mitt Romney said he blew candles out weird because he had a cold. However he wasn’t wearing protective gloves or a mask nor were there any signs of Kleenex or cold medicine in his office.” — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 13, 2019

“Mitt Romney having his female staffers make him a cake and deliver it to him reinforces patriarchal stereotypes and just shows how out of touch he is.” — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 13, 2019

“Mitt Romney caught a cold. The man who wants to rip healthcare away from 30 million people got sick.” — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 13, 2019

And don’t forget …

What influence does Mitt Romney's religion on his cande extinguishing method, and is America ready for it? — Plastic Straw Cartel Chief (@rcjparry) March 13, 2019

WHAT A PURE MONSTER. — Wesley B. Hartline (@WesHartline) March 13, 2019

It’s a great parody, but it turns out HuffPost had already taken the moment beyond parody. They really do think it’s still 2012.

No, it’s not a Photoshop:

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) doesn’t seem to know how birthday candles work. pic.twitter.com/ru4T5Po0b2 — HuffPost (@HuffPost) March 12, 2019

Or knows to not spread germs. — Bradley Perry (@perryfortexas) March 12, 2019

He had a cold, is this really news? — Champions Drive (@FoxboroChamps) March 12, 2019

Or maybe he doesn’t want to spit all over the Twinkies. — SoujournerDaTruth (@Bukalove04) March 12, 2019

Well, better than spitting all over the cake. — marcom (@Gab_Dan) March 12, 2019

Indeed he does. Who would want his spittle germs and such spread all over the twinkies? — Rebecca Fleur (@Rebecca84841883) March 12, 2019

Ya’ll. He’s not spitting all over the food. There’s plenty to attack Romney on. This ain’t it. — Oliver VanDervoort (@notoriousobv) March 12, 2019

It’s flu season people, thank you Senator Romney for not spewing your germs all over the Twinkies!! — Marie curie (@MCurie18) March 12, 2019

Really? Or he is just brighter than most… who wants spit all over the whole twinkie cake? — Atlas Shrugged (@AminaMichele) March 12, 2019

He has a cold and he’s a polite person you absolute clown show. — A (@Aposter1228) March 13, 2019

Whoa… he’s not spitting on the food… Romney might actually have won me over right there — m (@m13812606) March 12, 2019

I think it's actually a nice way to do it, instead of breathing all over food other people are going to eat. — AroundTown (@Bikerboots) March 12, 2019

Just when you try to parody HuffPost, they come back with something you’d never imagine was real. Can’t wait for their coverage of 2020.

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