Yesterday's inauguration ceremony of 46th president Joe Biden was a spectacle of renewed patriotism, historical firsts and fashion diplomacy. Michelle Obama nearly scorched the blue carpeting on the Capitol stairs in her stunner of a cinched plum suit and Lady Gaga's matching gold dove broach and microphone were smokin', but it was Senator Bernie Sanders' no-nonsense, winter-appropriate attire that completely burned down the internet.
Sanders attended the celebration in a winterized dad parka, paper mask, black pants, socks and shoes, and a pair of oversized floppy mittens made for him by a second grade teacher in Vermont. Sure, he would have preferred to have been standing in Biden's spot rather then sitting socially distanced and alone with arms and legs crossed, but chances are, even if he was the guest of honor at the inauguration, he would have been wearing the same thing.
And that's where the memes come in. The down-to-earth, no-hard-feelings Sanders looked like he could blend in just about anywhere, and thanks to Photoshop and hilarious social media-ites, he did.
Memes of Sanders superimposed on the throne from Games of Thrones and perched on a park bench next to Forrest Gump popped up on the internet before the Bidens crossed the threshold of their new home, and within hours Sanders and his warm hands were everywhere – from outer space to Milwaukee hotspots.
Of course at OnMilwaukee we nabbed our favorite locally-flavored "mittened Bernie memes" and compiled them here:
1. Bernie & Bacon
Legendary, year-round Milwaukee sunbather Dick Bacon and the bundled-up senator from Vermont have little in common, and yet, they pair swimmingly in this meme. We call this one "Feel the (sun)Bern."
2. Packers extremist
Vermont isn't home to an NFL team, so that means Sanders roots for the Pack, probably.
3. Leroy got nothing on leapin' Bernie
Almost 80 years old and still able to Lambeau Leap way better than Leroy Butler.
4. Bernie goes to Mars
Bernie will wait all night in his folding chair for free cheese samples from Mars Cheese Castle.
5. Boone & Bernie
After a chilly Biden inauguration, Bernie warms up in a booth at Boone & Crockett with a cocktail.
6. Check him out
Bernie contemplates checking out a book or two on historical Franklin heroes from the town's library.
7. Bernie rides the bus (of course he does!)
iâm once again asking for you to wear a mask while riding the bus pic.twitter.com/7DVA58MB8m — RideMCTS (@RideMCTS) January 21, 2021
Even the MCTS got in on the Bernie meme fun yesterday. Honk if you love mittens!
8. The Bernerine?
We knew this one was coming, right Milwaukee?
9. Bernie goes anywhere you want Bernie to be
And hey, the best news is you can make your own "Bernie in mittens" meme with this handy meme maker right here. My friends made one (above) and now they have photographic evidence of the time they went on a family vacation to New Orleans with Senator Sanders.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
