A meme was born yesterday when Sen. Bernie Sanders took his mittens to Washington, DC.
The 79-year-old Vermont senator became the toast of social media after being pictured in a low-key parka and multicolored hand-knit mittens during President Biden’s inauguration.
A now-iconic photo of a bundled-up Sanders, sitting alone in a folding chair with his arms and legs crossed, immediately became a hit.
Filmmaker and influencer New York Nico quickly got to work posting images of Brooklyn-born Sanders edited into Big Apple scenes — including next to a hot dog stand, in a park and on the subway.
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Sanders also made an “appearance” at a Washington Square Park chess table, and in one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus update slideshows.
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Meanwhile, others digitally inserted the socialist into iconic pictures, movies and TV shows: sitting on a bench next to Forrest Gump, hanging out on the planet Hoth in “Star Wars” and sitting on the throne from “Game of Thrones.”
The best Bernie memes I saw pic.twitter.com/mwq6stLV7Z
— David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) January 21, 2021
He also got showed up on classic album covers — and as the person selling merch at a concert.
https://t.co/nIBet0PdMW pic.twitter.com/FF20zGINhm
— DanCase (@Dan_Case) January 20, 2021
For the less meme-inclined fans, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is immortalizing Sanders’ inauguration look as a bobblehead.
Sanders mittens were gifted to him by Jen Ellis, a second grade teacher in Vermont.
Ellis made them back in 2016, when she was making presents for her daughter’s teachers.
Sanders’ daughter-in-law owned the preschool, which was Ellis’ connection to delivering a pair to the senator himself.
While performers like Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez dazzled in their vibrant, high-fashion outfits on Wednesday, many viewers seemed to appreciate how Sanders’ winter garb felt like a breath of pandemic-appropriate realness.
In an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered, Ellis said the attention around the mittens actually started last winter when Sanders was on the campaign trail seeking the Democratic nomination.
She said she never expected them to garner such a big reaction, but she’s glad they’ve held up quite nicely.
Here’s some more of Bernie to enjoy:
