Bernie Sanders Turned His Own Inauguration Meme Into a Sweatshirt, and It's Already Sold Out

From ELLE

Even if you've only been on the internet a little bit this week, there's no way you missed the viral meme of a cold Bernie Sanders sitting—with his legs crossed and his knit mittens on—at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's inauguration on Wednesday. Because they know a good fundraising opportunity when they see one, the folks at Bernie Sanders's campaign sold the "Chairman Sanders Crewneck" for $45 each to raise money for Meals on Wheels Vermont. And—no shock—it's sold out.

The Bernie Campaign Store posted the sweatshirt with the following cautionary note: "*** Due to overwhelming demand for this item, it will be 4-8 weeks until you receive your sweatshirt. ***"

The photo of Sanders, which has now been the subject of countless entertaining memes, was taken by Brendan Smialowski for Getty Images. Here are just a few of the gems the world-wide web churned out this week:

Sanders has seen the memes. In an interview with Seth Meyers, he said all he was doing was "just sitting there, trying to keep warm, trying to pay attention to what was going on."

When Meyers pressed him on what, exactly was in that envelope he was carrying, the senator from Vermont and incoming chair of the Senate Budget Committee, responded, "I'd love to tell you, Seth. It's top secret."

He was sure to give a shout-out to Jen Ellis, his supporter who made him the now popular knit mittens. "What was really nice, Seth, is the woman who made the mittens lives in Essex Junction, Vermont," he said. "She is a school teacher and a very, very nice person, and she has been somewhat overwhelmed by the kind of attention that is being shown to her mittens."

In a tweet this week, Ellis wrote, "Thanks for all the interest in Bernie's mittens! It truly has been an amazing and historic day! I'm so flattered that Bernie wore them to the inauguration. Sadly, I have no more mittens for sale. There are a lot of great crafters on ETSY who make them."

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