# Bernie Sanders Mittens > Bernie Sanders Mittens is a 2021 viral photo meme of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sitting in oversized wool mittens at Biden's inauguration, extensively photoshopped into new contexts. Bernie Sanders Mittens is a viral photo meme from the January 20, 2021 presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, showing Senator Bernie Sanders sitting alone in a folding chair wearing a Burton parka and oversized wool mittens, arms crossed, looking thoroughly unbothered by the ceremony around him. The image, captured by AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski, became the first major meme of the Biden era as people photoshopped the bundled-up senator into every setting imaginable[2]. The mittens themselves, handmade by Vermont teacher Jen Ellis from repurposed wool sweaters and recycled plastic bottles, became a feel-good story that raised $1.8 million for Vermont charities[13]. ## Origin On January 20, 2021, AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski captured the now-iconic image of Senator Bernie Sanders at President Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol[10]. The temperature was the coldest at any inauguration in over a decade, with the strongest winds in nearly 40 years[7]. Sanders wore a light brown Burton jacket from the Vermont-based snowboard company, the same coat he'd worn during his 2020 presidential campaign[4]. The mittens were made by Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont. Ellis had given Sanders the mittens over two years earlier as a gift after he lost the 2016 Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton[11]. She included a note saying "I believe in you, I've always believed in you, and I hope you run again"[9]. The mittens were crafted from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles[1]. BuzzFeed News political reporter Ruby Cramer was among the first to identify the mittens' backstory, tweeting about their origin during the ceremony[1]. Within minutes of the photograph circulating, Twitter exploded with reactions and photoshop edits. - **Platform:** AFP/Getty Images (source photo), Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Brendan Smialowski (photographer), Bernie Sanders (subject), Jen Ellis (mitten maker) - **Date:** 2021 ## Overview The meme centers on a single photograph: Bernie Sanders, 79 years old, seated in a metal folding chair at the 2021 presidential inauguration. His legs are crossed, his arms are folded, and his hands are wrapped in chunky brown-and-cream patterned mittens. He's wearing a heavy olive-green Burton parka over a suit jacket, with a blue surgical mask slightly askew on his face. A manila envelope is tucked under one arm[1]. What made the image so meme-worthy was the contrast. While other attendees showed up in designer coats and carefully coordinated outfits, Sanders looked like he had stopped by on his way to the post office[9]. The pose radiated a very specific energy: cold, slightly annoyed, pragmatic, completely indifferent to the pageantry. People immediately recognized themselves in it. The image worked as a blank canvas because Sanders and his folding chair could be cleanly cut out and dropped into any background, from the Iron Throne to a New York City subway car[11]. ## How It Spread The meme spread with remarkable speed on January 20, 2021. The first wave was pure reaction. People on Twitter compared Sanders to a Vermont grandfather running errands, a dad waiting at the post office, and someone who had parked his Subaru on the Capitol lawn to briefly attend the inauguration before heading to Stewart's for coffee[1]. The phrase "I am once again asking that you not talk to me at parties" became one of the earliest caption hits, riffing on Sanders' existing "I Am Once Again Asking" meme[6]. Sharp-eyed observers noticed he was even wearing the same coat from that earlier meme[2]. The second wave was the photoshop explosion. Sanders' seated figure was cleanly extractable from the background, making him an ideal exploitable image. Within hours, he appeared on the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones, on a park bench next to Forrest Gump, riding the New York City subway, and sitting outside the Quick Stop from Kevin Smith's "Clerks"[2][11]. Kevin Smith himself was delighted, tweeting his thanks[2]. Kal Penn posted Sanders edited onto the couch between Harold and Kumar[2]. Reporter Tatiana Tenreyro created an Instagram account called @theberniealbums, placing Sanders on the covers of classic records like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours"[2]. The hashtags #BernieSanders, #berniesmittens, and #BernieSandersIn trended across multiple platforms[11]. By January 24, Sanders' office had started selling union-made sweatshirts and stickers featuring the image, with all proceeds going to Vermont charities[10]. The merchandise sold out within 30 minutes[11]. ## How to Use The standard format takes the cutout of Sanders sitting in his folding chair and places him into a new scene or setting. The humor typically comes from one of a few angles: - **Location swap**: Drop Sanders into a famous movie scene, album cover, painting, or landmark photo. The more formal or dramatic the setting, the funnier his indifferent posture reads. - **Relatable mood**: Caption the original or edited image with text about being cold, bored, antisocial, or just wanting to go home. His body language reads as universal "I don't want to be here" energy. - **Vermont dad energy**: Play on his practical clothing choices by placing him in everyday scenarios like waiting at the post office, grocery shopping, or sitting at a bus stop. - **Political commentary**: Use the image to comment on Sanders' outsider status within the Democratic Party or his working-class aesthetic versus political glamour. The image works best when the contrast between Sanders' casual indifference and the setting is at its sharpest. ## Cultural Impact The Bernie Sanders Mittens meme broke out of internet culture and into mainstream media within hours. Major outlets including Vogue[4], GQ[7], The Cut[9], The Daily Beast[3], and the New York Post[6] all ran stories about Sanders' outfit on Inauguration Day itself. Vogue ran a feature on the mittens' backstory and Sanders' history as "a serial outfit repeater"[4]. GQ declared Sanders the winner of the "Inauguration Fit Battle"[7]. The charitable dimension gave the meme an unusually positive real-world footprint. Sanders' official merchandise raised $1.8 million for Vermont organizations including Meals on Wheels, community action agencies, the Chill Foundation, senior centers, and Bistate Primary Care[13]. The total fundraising across all related merchandise and donations was even higher when factoring in Getty's licensing donations, Burton's jacket donation, and the various eBay and bobblehead contributions[10]. Jen Ellis went from anonymous schoolteacher to internationally recognized figure. She fielded media requests from outlets around the globe and secured a manufacturing deal with Vermont Teddy Bear Company to meet demand[12]. The meme also brought renewed attention to Ellis' craft of making mittens from recycled materials, aligning neatly with Sanders' environmental and working-class brand. The image also reinforced Sanders' existing meme legacy. He was already well-known online for the "I Am Once Again Asking for Your Financial Support" meme from his 2020 campaign. The mittens photo cemented him as one of the most memed politicians in American history, and the fact that he wore the same coat in both viral images became its own sub-joke[2]. ## Fun Facts - Sanders had previously lent the original mittens to someone else. When Ellis found out, she sent him ten additional pairs[12]. - The manila envelope Sanders carried to the inauguration was simply the original envelope his inauguration tickets came in. People joked it contained the Green New Deal or $2,000 stimulus checks[1][9]. - Ellis' mittens feature a pattern with a "vague nod to Fair Isle" on the outside and blue-and-white palms[4]. - Sanders wore the mittens to the Women's March in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in January 2020, and the Burton jacket during a campaign stop in Utah in March 2020[4]. - Comedian Julia Claire's tweet, "I will never forget Bernie honoring our middle class New England tradition of having exactly one heavy winter coat, worn to both formal and casual events," was one of the most-shared reactions[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme? It's a viral photo from the January 20, 2021 presidential inauguration showing Senator Bernie Sanders sitting alone in a folding chair, bundled up in a parka and handmade wool mittens, looking completely indifferent to the ceremony. The image was photoshopped into countless settings and became the first major meme of the Biden era[2][5]. ### Where did the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme come from? AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski captured the image at Joe Biden's inauguration at the U.S. Capitol. It went viral on Twitter within minutes as people shared reactions and began creating photoshop edits[10][1]. ### What does the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme mean? The meme is used to express relatable feelings of being cold, bored, antisocial, or indifferent to formal events. Sanders' practical outfit and hunched posture amid the glamour of the inauguration made him a perfect stand-in for "I'd rather be somewhere else" energy[8][9]. ### How do you use the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme? Cut out the image of Sanders in his chair and paste him into any background, movie scene, album cover, or famous painting. The humor comes from the contrast between his casual indifference and the new setting[2][5]. ### Is the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme still popular? The meme peaked in January and February 2021 and was one of the biggest memes of that year. It resurfaces occasionally, especially in cold weather months or during political events, but the initial viral wave has long passed[5][10]. ### Who made Bernie Sanders' mittens? Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, made them from repurposed wool sweaters and lined them with fleece from recycled plastic bottles. She gave them to Sanders after he lost the 2016 Democratic primary[11][1]. ### How much money did the Bernie Sanders Mittens meme raise? Sanders' official merchandise featuring the image raised $1.8 million for Vermont charities including Meals on Wheels, the Chill Foundation, and Feeding Chittenden[13]. Additional donations came from Getty Images, Burton Snowboards, eBay, and the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame[10]. ### What coat was Bernie Sanders wearing? A light brown Burton parka from the Vermont-based snowboard company. He had worn the same jacket during his 2020 presidential campaign, and it was the same coat from his earlier "I Am Once Again Asking" meme[4][2]. ### What was in Bernie Sanders' manila envelope? According to a source who spoke to BuzzFeed News reporter Ruby Cramer, it was simply the original envelope his inauguration tickets came in[1]. ### Did Jen Ellis profit from the mittens going viral? Ellis partnered with Vermont Teddy Bear Company to manufacture the mittens at scale, with proceeds benefiting Make-A-Wish Vermont. She received roughly 13,000 emails requesting mittens within three days of the inauguration[12]. ### Why did the Bernie Sanders photo work so well as a meme? Sanders' seated figure was cleanly extractable from the background, making it easy to paste into new scenes. His body language conveyed a universally relatable mood, and the contrast with the formal event gave it built-in comedy[9][8]. ## References 1. [Bernie Sanders' Extremely Practical Inauguration Look]() 2. [Bernie Sanders won the inauguration with coat and mittens meme - nj.com]() 3. [Jill Biden and Kamala Harris Dressed Regally at the Inauguration. And Bernie Sanders’ Mittens Rocked.]() 4. [Bernie Sanders Rewears Mittens by a Vermont Teacher to the Inauguration | Vogue]() 5. [72 Funny Unfazed Bernie Sanders Memes from the Inauguration | eBaum's World]() 6. [Bernie Sanders roasted for his Inauguration Day attire]() 7. [Bernie Sanders' Mittens Won the Inauguration Fit Battle | GQ]() 8. [Unfazed Bernie Sanders is the best meme to come out of the inauguration]() 9. [Bernie Sanders’ Inauguration Mittens Go Viral]() 10. [The Bernie Sanders meme has been completely commodified]() 11. [An Internet Glove Story: Meet the maker of Bernie Sanders Mittens]() 12. [Bernie's Mitten Maker Finds Manufacturer to Fill Order Deluge]() 13. [That Bernie Sanders Mittens Meme Helped Raise $1.8 Million for Charity | Glamour]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/bernie-sanders-mittens Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library