Bernie Sanders Mittens

The Bernie Sanders mittens meme originated from a single photograph taken at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021. AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski captured Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sitting cross-legged in a folding chair, wearing a Burton winter coat and a pair of handmade recycled wool mittens — and looking completely unbothered by the historic ceremony happening around him. Within hours, the image became the biggest meme of 2021 and arguably the most wholesome political meme in internet history.

The Photo That Launched a Thousand Photoshops

While every other attendee at Biden's inauguration dressed in coordinated designer outfits — Michelle Obama in plum Sergio Hudson, Lady Gaga in a custom Schiaparelli — Sanders showed up in the same Burton jacket he'd been wearing for years and mittens made from old sweaters. He sat in a metal folding chair with his legs and arms crossed, a manila envelope tucked under one arm, looking like a man who had better things to do and places to be.

The contrast was immediate and devastating. Here was the formal transfer of presidential power, broadcast to 40 million viewers, and one senator was sitting there like he was waiting for a delayed bus in January. New Yorker writer Rachel Syme tweeted the image with the caption, "i need this picture to become the new 'i would prefer not to' stand in." That post alone got 20,000 likes and 4,000 retweets in under 24 hours. BuzzFeed reporter Ruby Cramer's tweet about the mittens' origin — handmade by a Vermont teacher named Jen Ellis from repurposed wool — picked up 230,000 likes.

By evening, "Bundled up Bernie" was the number one trending topic on Twitter. Reddit's r/MemeEconomy front-paged the image with the title "Invest in Bundled up Bernie." Every major outlet — Vogue, GQ, The Washington Post, CNET, People — ran features. The meme had arrived, and it wasn't leaving.

The Mittens Have a Story

The mittens weren't some random accessory. Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher in Essex Junction, Vermont, made them by hand from repurposed wool sweaters lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles. She'd given a pair to Sanders more than two years before the inauguration and was genuinely surprised when he started wearing them on the 2020 campaign trail.

After the meme went viral, Ellis was flooded with thousands of requests for identical pairs. She'd already stopped making mittens regularly, but she used the publicity to auction three pairs for charity and her daughter's college fund. She also partnered with Darn Tough Socks (a Vermont company) to produce socks with the same pattern, with proceeds going to Vermont food banks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sustainability angle matters here. In an era of fast fashion and disposable culture, the fact that these iconic mittens were made from literal trash — old sweaters and recycled bottles — added another layer to the meme's appeal. It was accidentally on-brand for everything Sanders represents.

The Photoshop Explosion

What made the Bernie mittens meme unique wasn't just the image — it was the extractability. Sanders was sitting in a folding chair against a relatively clean background, which made him trivially easy to cut out and paste anywhere. And the internet went absolutely feral with it.

Within days, Bernie had been placed into:

• The moon landing alongside Neil Armstrong
• The Last Supper
• The throne room from Game of Thrones
• Scenes from Star Trek, Batman, Wayne's World, and Forrest Gump
• Famous paintings from the Louvre
• Every possible Google Street View location (someone built an entire website for this)

The Google Street View tool, called "Put Bernie Anywhere," let anyone drop mittens-Bernie into any address on Google Maps. It was the "tourist guy" meme format turbocharged for 2021. The sheer volume of high-quality edits was staggering — this wasn't just a meme, it was a collaborative art project involving millions of people.

$1.8 Million in Meme Merch

Sanders leaned into the moment perfectly. Rather than ignoring it or awkwardly trying to capitalize, he put the image on sweatshirts and donated all proceeds to Vermont charities. The merch raised at least $1.8 million for organizations including Meals on Wheels, senior centers, and low-income dental programs across the state.

Burton Snowboards — maker of the jacket Sanders wore — donated 50 jackets to the Burlington Department for Children and Families. The meme had become an actual charitable force, which is something you can't say about most viral moments.

Why This Meme Worked So Well

Most memes capture a specific emotion. The Bernie mittens meme captured a universal experience: showing up somewhere formal and refusing to sacrifice comfort for appearance. Every person who has ever worn their "good jacket" to a fancy event because it's warm and they don't care what people think saw themselves in that folding chair.

The timing amplified everything. January 2021 was deep in the COVID-19 pandemic. People were exhausted, isolated, and desperate for something that felt genuine. The image of a 79-year-old senator sitting alone in handmade mittens during a ceremony everyone else treated as a fashion show hit a nerve that transcended political affiliation. Conservatives and liberals both shared it. It was one of the rare internet moments where everyone was in on the same joke, and the joke was kind.

The photographer, Brendan Smialowski, later told The Guardian that he didn't think it was a particularly great shot. "Making this into a meme was technically a misuse of journalism," he said, "but it's been fun to watch." Someone even sent him a pair of mittens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who took the original Bernie Sanders mittens photo?

AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski captured the iconic image at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021. He later said he didn't consider it one of his best photographs and wouldn't include it in his professional portfolio — but the internet turned it into one of the most recognized images of the decade.

Who made Bernie Sanders' mittens?

Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, handmade the mittens from repurposed wool sweaters lined with fleece from recycled plastic bottles. She gave them to Sanders more than two years before the inauguration. After the meme went viral, she partnered with Darn Tough Socks to produce charity socks with the same pattern.

How much money did Bernie raise from the mittens meme?

Sanders sold charity sweatshirts featuring the photograph and raised at least $1.8 million for Vermont organizations, including Meals on Wheels, senior centers, and low-income dental clinics. Burton Snowboards also donated 50 jackets to the Burlington Department for Children and Families.

Why did the Bernie mittens meme become so popular?

Three things: relatability (everyone has been the underdressed person at a formal event), extractability (the clean background made photoshopping trivially easy), and timing (January 2021 during COVID, when people desperately needed something wholesome and unifying to share).

Can I face-swap into the Bernie Sanders mittens meme?

Absolutely — it's one of the easiest and most fun face swaps on MEEMES. The front-facing composition and clean background make the swap look natural every time. Put your own face on the most relatable inauguration moment in history.