MA-0031 · first seen 20 January 2021
Bernie Sanders Mittens
A senator sitting with folded arms in a parka and patterned mittens, pasted into every setting imaginable.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 27/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- −1%Estimated
- Peak
- 89Jan 2021
- Years active
- 1Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 202120 January 2021
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Dec 2020 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
At the US presidential inauguration on 20 January 2021, photographer Brendan Smialowski of AFP captured Senator Bernie Sanders seated alone, arms and legs crossed, in a practical parka and a pair of mittens made by a Vermont schoolteacher, Jen Ellis, from a recycled sweater. The picture was pasted into films, paintings, subway cars and historic photographs within hours.
The image’s strength was its blank neutrality: it could sit on any background without changing its mood. His campaign sold merchandise with the image, reportedly raising more than $1.8 million for charities in Vermont.
Origin
A photograph taken at the US presidential inauguration on 20 January 2021.
20 January 2021
Viralization
Edited into countless scenes on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit within hours.
January 2021
Peak
The week of the inauguration, when the image was the Internet’s top meme.
Jan 2021
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
The photograph
A seated figure in a parka and handmade mittens is photographed at the inauguration.
Early adoption
Pasted anywhere
Within hours users edit him into films, paintings and historical scenes.
Viral
Merchandise
Sweatshirts and stickers with the image are sold to raise money for charity.
Peak
The week of the mittens
News outlets cover the meme as it dominates feeds.
Decline
Quickly over
Attention fades within weeks, as with most event-driven memes.
Current
A reference image
Used as shorthand for stoic impatience.
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