Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is a fierce advocate of fair wages and a former presidential candidate who lost the Democratic nomination to now-President Joe Biden. And thanks to his practical clothing choices he is also now the center of a seemingly endless flood of altered pictures that dominated some corners of the internet in the hours after Biden's socially distanced inauguration on Wednesday.
Amid the dark suits and bright coats dotting the Capitol steps, Sanders was photographed sitting masked, cross-legged and bundled up in a bulky coat and mittens against the frigid weather in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the image, taken by photographer Brendan Smialowski for Getty Images, began to circulate on social media inserted into a wide array of photographs and scenes from movies and artworks.
On a day all about Biden, it was in some ways appropriate that Sanders, whose strongest political support in the presidential race came from young voters, would nonetheless be the star of the day's biggest meme by doing nothing but sitting and crossing his arms. In their primary competition, Sanders enjoyed a significantly larger online following than Biden, especially among those who often communicate through memes.
Though other memes starring Sanders were often used to say something — he wore what appears to be the same coat in a 2009 fundraising video in which he is "once again asking for your financial support," a line that has been repurposed in a litany of ways — there was no such deeper meaning to the newest meme. Instead of using his image to make an argument, he was simply placed into new contexts, with his pose, outfit and expression themselves serving as the joke.
While the day belonged to Biden, the meme served as an amusing sideshow, a bit of fun and levity after four years in which presidential politics brought Sanders' supporters few reasons to be in a good mood.
It wasn't the only meme inspired by Inauguration Day: Others touched on the former first lady Michelle Obama's outfit and on Lady Gaga, who sang the national anthem dressed not entirely unlike a character from the "Hunger Games." But even with Janet Yellen, Biden's nominee for Treasury secretary, dressed just as warmly, it was Sanders, the incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee, who seemed far the favorite.
Early posts about him started with simple reviews of his practical, relatively unglamorous outfit. Some saw their uncles and fathers in his choice to put warmth over style.
Then came the memes, in which social media users took the original image of Sanders and found new locations for him and his coat. He was inserted into history. Sat at the bowling alley with The Dude. Enjoyed the sun at a closed state beach in New Jersey with that state's former governor, Chris Christie.
