Michael Bloomberg shakes dog's mouth in bizarre video during 2020 election campaign event

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An interaction between Michael Bloomberg and a dog is going viral after the former New York City mayor attempted to say hello by shaking the animal’s snout.

The attempted greeting took place during a campaign event in Burlington, Vermont, on Monday. In the clip, which has already been viewed more than 900,000 times on Twitter, the Democratic presidential candidate shakes hands with a man, before turning his attention to a dog.

But, rather than petting the wagging dog on its head, Mr Bloomberg instead reaches around the animal's nose and shakes its face.

After a few seconds, it seems that the presidential hopeful remembered that greetings meant for humans aren’t the same ones used for animals - at which point he gave the dog a few head scratches.

The bizarre moment has prompted a mixture of reactions on social media, ranging from confusion to amusement.

“I regret to inform you that Mike Bloomberg attempted to shake a dog’s head,” one person captioned the video.

Another said: “Michael Bloomberg… just greeted a dog… by giving it a handshake… on its face.”

Others questioned whether Mr Bloomberg’s decision to shake the pup's snout could be because he has never met a dog.

“Is this the first time Michael Bloomberg has ever pet a dog?” someone asked.

However, as evidenced by a picture shared to social media, the interaction was not the first time the former mayor had attempted to greet a dog with a mouth shake.

“This is SO. WEIRD,” one person summed up the politician’s questionable habit.