We’ve all seen the recent viral memes of Senator Bernie Sanders on Inauguration Day, but which ones are the best?
By Emily Abbatacola
Inauguration Day was particularly buzzworthy this time around for many reasons. Every four years the historic event of inaugurating a new president takes place, but this year Senator Bernie Sanders may have accidentally stolen the show. A photograph of his seemingly innocent appearance at the event broke the internet almost instantly.
While others were praised for their high-class fashion, Bernie Sanders rocked a more practical look with a puffy winter jacket and some brown striped mittens. He was photographed sitting with his arms crossed in a chair looking rather unamused. Thus, the “Bernie Mittens” meme was born.
Millions of watchers have contributed to this meme phenomenon by creating and sharing different photoshopped images of Sanders all over social media. Tons of creations have surfaced on the internet, but which ones are the best? Keep scrolling to find out.
1. “A Tale of 2 Mittenz”
Sander’s innocent Inauguration appearance has been made into a meme rendition of popular album covers, including J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive.” It looks like he belongs on the album cover.
2. “Bernie, will you accept this mitten?”
Bachelor Nation, could Bernie Sanders be the next Bachelorette? Maybe he’ll make an appearance in the next episode. After all, a few more girls just showed up late!
3. “The Bernie Mittens Theory”
“Math, science, history, unraveling the Bernie Mittens meme
That all started with the big bang! Hey!”
I don’t know about you, but I’d pay to see this interaction between Bernie and Sheldon.
4. “Bernie and Friends”
Just when you thought the iconic show “Friends” couldn’t get any better, imagine it with Sanders. Sanders would always be unamused while the Friends are hilarious. He definitely thought he and Rachel were on a break.
5. “Bernie Box”
Ironically, the face cover did not need to be photoshopped on for this meme. Unfortunately, Sanders is wearing the wrong kind of mask and would not survive in the Bird Box film.
6. “The Twilight Saga: New Mittens”
Maybe the reason Bernie looked so glum at the Inauguration was because he and Edward were in a fight. The thought of this duo is hilarious. For fans of Twilight, are you team Bernie or team Bella?
7. “Bernie the Fly Spy”
There was a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories around the fly on Former Vice President Mike Pence’s head during the VP debate. Who knows, maybe it was just Bernie Sanders trying to get in on all the action!
While these memes are funny, the hype around it has gone further than the photoshopped images. The mittens Sanders wore sold out quickly, and the Vermont teacher who makes them decided to auction off some pairs to raise money for charity.
The photographer who snapped the image of Sanders sitting bundled up in a chair has also received his well-deserved recognition. Brendan Smialowski photographed the most important events throughout the day, including the moment that Joe Biden was sworn into presidency. The shot of the mirthless-looking senator is the photo that gained world renown.
The photo is genius and created endless meme possibilities. Leave it to this generation to take a momentous day in politics and turn it into a cultural meme that we’ll be laughing about for weeks to come.