Bernie Sanders Mittens

Sometimes the most memorable moments of historic events are the most mundane. While the world watched Joe Biden take the oath of office as America's 46th president, the internet fixated on a 79-year-old senator from Vermont sitting alone in a folding chair, arms crossed, wearing oversized mittens.

The Bernie Sanders mittens meme emerged from a photograph taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Brendan Smialowski on January 20, 2021, during President Biden's inauguration at the U.S. Capitol (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The image depicted Vermont Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders seated during the socially distanced ceremony, wearing a face mask and winter clothing—most noticeably a large, fluffy pair of patterned mittens made by Vermont elementary school teacher Jen Ellis (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

Sanders's appearance stood in striking contrast to the formal attire worn by other attendees at the historic ceremony. While former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, wore carefully coordinated purple ensembles symbolizing unity, Sanders appeared in his characteristic practical Vermont style: a brown Burton Snowboards jacket, simple black trousers, and those now-infamous mittens (Al Jazeera, 2021; CBS Chicago, 2021). One Twitter user aptly described his look as "dressed to stand on line at the post office" chic (TIME, 2021).

The photograph that would become the iconic meme showed Sanders sitting alone on a white folding chair, spaced apart from other attendees due to COVID-19 protocols, with his arms and legs crossed and a manila envelope tucked under his arm (CNBC, 2021). His slightly slouched posture and seemingly impassive expression beneath his mask created an image that immediately resonated with millions of people worldwide.

The meme proliferated with remarkable speed. Within hours of the photograph's circulation, creative internet users began placing Sanders into various contexts using photoshop and image editing tools (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The format followed patterns similar to earlier memes like "Tourist Guy," with Sanders's seated figure inserted into famous paintings, historical photographs, movie scenes, and everyday situations (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

The versatility of the meme proved nearly limitless. Sanders appeared sitting at Jesus Christ's side in Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, joining the fellowship in Lord of the Rings, perched on Saturn's rings in NASA imagery, waiting at the fish counter at Zabar's deli, holding parking dibs on snowy Chicago streets, and riding the Chicago Transit Authority (Harper's Bazaar, 2021; CBS Chicago, 2021; Space.com, 2021; The Washington Post, 2021). From the United States to Argentina to Iran, the image proliferated through the far corners of the internet in an ever-expanding array of jokes (The Washington Post, 2021).

A website was even created allowing users to place Sanders's image into any Google Street View photograph, democratizing meme creation and enabling personalized versions of the phenomenon (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The meme transcended language barriers and geographical boundaries, with creative variations appearing in Russia, the Middle East, Korea, Canada, and throughout Latin America (The Washington Post, 2021).

The mittens themselves became objects of fascination and inquiry. They were handmade by Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, who created them from repurposed wool sweaters and lined them with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles (CNBC, 2021; The Washington Post, 2021). Ellis had given the mittens to Sanders approximately two years earlier after learning he liked them during a campaign stop (The Washington Post, 2021).

Ellis's craftsmanship suddenly thrust her into the spotlight. She received thousands of requests for the mittens, though she explained she had stopped regularly making them and didn't have time to quit her day job as a second-grade teacher and mother (Harper's Bazaar, 2021; The Washington Post, 2021). To capitalize on the publicity for charitable purposes, she made three additional pairs to be auctioned for charity and her daughter's college fund (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). She later collaborated with Darn Tough Socks to produce a range of socks featuring the same pattern as the mittens, with proceeds going to Vermont food banks (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

Sanders responded to his unexpected viral fame with characteristic pragmatism and humor. When asked about his outfit choice on CBS This Morning, he said simply: "In Vermont, we know something about the cold. And we're not so concerned about good fashion. We just want to keep warm. And that's what I did today" (CBS Chicago, 2021; Harper's Bazaar, 2021). On Late Night with Seth Meyers, Sanders acknowledged the memes and indicated he was laughing along with the internet rather than feeling mocked (Harper's Bazaar, 2021).

The commercial exploitation of the meme happened almost immediately. By the end of inauguration day, merchandise featuring Sanders and his mittens appeared on various platforms, including mugs, plates, T-shirts, stickers, and wine glasses (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). Sanders's own campaign store released a sweatshirt featuring the photograph, with 100% of proceeds going to Meals on Wheels Vermont (CNBC, 2021). The crewneck sold out quickly, and the charitable initiative ultimately raised at least $1.8 million (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025).

The Burton Snowboards jacket Sanders wore also experienced a surge in popularity following the meme, leading the company to donate 50 jackets to the Burlington Department for Children and Families (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The jacket had previously achieved meme status after Sanders wore it in a 2019 campaign advertisement, demonstrating his consistent personal brand (The Washington Post, 2021).

Photographer Brendan Smialowski, who captured the iconic image, reflected on why the photograph resonated so strongly: "Sen. Sanders has a very well defined brand and image. He is who he is and he's comfortable in that and it's very much part of his politics. It was a nice slice of life. It's just Bernie being Bernie" (CNBC, 2021).

The meme's appeal transcended simple humor. For many, Sanders's casual, practical appearance made him relatable during a formal political ceremony at a time when the world was reeling from a pandemic that had exacerbated economic and social divides (The Washington Post, 2021). His crossed arms and seemingly grumpy demeanor perhaps reflected people's own frustrations with political systems, while his democratic socialist policies had made him popular internationally, at least in progressive circles (The Washington Post, 2021).

The Bernie Sanders mittens meme represents a perfect convergence of elements that characterize contemporary viral phenomena: an authentic moment captured during a significant historical event, a relatable subject whose personal brand aligned with his public image, and a format easily adaptable for creative expression across cultural contexts. The meme demonstrated how internet culture can take a single photograph and transform it into a global participatory art project, with millions of people contributing their own interpretations and variations.