Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is embracing his new found meme fame.
Sanders appeared Thursday night on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and they addressed the elephant in the virtual room: the now-infamous photo of a mittened Sanders waiting for President Joe Biden’s inauguration to begin.
The senator said he “was just sitting there trying to keep warm, trying to pay attention to what was going on.”
You can watch the entire interview here or below. If you want to listen to the part about the memes, skip to the 54-second mark.
Sanders said that he has seen the memes, but he then changed the focus to the mittens themselves.
They were given to the senator by Jen Ellis, a second-grade teacher in Vermont who made them back in 2016 for her daughter’s teachers. The mittens were seen on the campaign trail frequently, NPR reported.
I made Bernie’s mittens as a gift a couple years ago. They are made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece (made from recycled plastic bottles). #BerniesMittens pic.twitter.com/lTXFJvVy9V
— Jen Ellis (@vtawesomeness) January 21, 2020
Meyers also asked the other question on everyone’s mind: the contents of the envelope Sanders was holding.
Sanders deadpanned, “I would love to tell you, Seth but it is top secret,” before he cracked a smile.
>> Read: Bernie Sanders inauguration memes inspire baseball card, bobblehead
In addition to the memes, a baseball card and bobblehead have been inspired by the moment.
You legitimately can buy a @Topps baseball card of Bernie Sanders at the inauguration. https://t.co/bFUVUDY5il pic.twitter.com/OkK3OZZCE6
— Mike Oz (@mikeoz) January 21, 2021
Political bobbleheads have been popular since 1960 when the first bobblehead of President John F. Kennedy was made. Now we're unveiling several new bobbleheads including an unexpected one featuring @BernieSanders from the inauguration. Pre-order now at https://t.co/KlAEygfVQZ. pic.twitter.com/up7biwA5V2
— National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum (@BobbleheadHall) January 20, 2021
Take a look at some of the memes below:
#MedTwitter #Berniememes #berniesmittens
— Christine Lovato MD (@DrCLovato) January 22, 2021
From our surgeon FB group. Wish I knew the source! pic.twitter.com/cYyMxJhFrB
Ha ha ha ha ha shout out to @colinhargraves for the sweet Bernie meme.
Posted by Joe Manganiello on Friday, January 22, 2021
I swear I'll stop now but I just had to show that Bernie's a fan of the Tower of Terror at Disney World. pic.twitter.com/0dyiTnTncd
— BuzzerBlog (@buzzerblog) January 21, 2021
Whaddaya know, Bernie wore the same outfit back then! #BernieSandersMittens #berniemittens #BernieSanders pic.twitter.com/zNR52j0jQi
— Tim McDaunting (@TMcdaunting) January 20, 2021
Yinz, we’ve truly never seen such a fashionable use of the parking chair. Thank you @BernieSanders for reserving that spot. pic.twitter.com/fRrWjilpS3
— Pittsburgh DSA (@pghDSA) January 20, 2021
I made a website where you can put bernie in places using google maps street view. Enjoy!https://t.co/UfY5g9xU2k pic.twitter.com/8rstiEXOHf
— nick (@nick_sawhney) January 21, 2021
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