There seems to be a general consensus that Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman was a breakout star at the Inauguration last Wednesday with her memorable rendition of “The Hill We Climb”.

But what also will be remembered is Bernie Sanders sartorial choices for such a solemn occasion.  Vermont’s Senator-cum-Grandfather haberdashery was memorable in its own right.  Enough so that the Memes just started pouring out!

In case you were out of the country and missed it, here’s a quick review of what inspired all the creative juices to flow:

BACKGROUND & OUTFIT

WRT that manilla envelope he’s carrying – apparently Bernie had a few errands to run afterwards, including a stop at the post office.

(Actually it’s been reported that the envelope was the official Inaugural Invitation with all the related packet materials.)

There were literally hundreds and hundreds of creations, so it was hard to get it down to a manageable number.  And then to make presentation easier, I decided to group them in very broad categories, so they don’t take up quite so much real estate.

CHRIS CHRISTIE

I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay homage to Bernie’s predecessor for Memes when Chris Christie got caught sunbathing at Island Beach State Park over the July 4^th weekend back in 2017 – even though the entire island was closed to the public because of a NJ statewide government shutdown.

POLITICS

Keeping in the political arena, I think these are pretty self-explanatory – from the Grand Alliance portrait to the closing Inaugural fireworks.  (But I got a real kick out of the Trumpkin domestic terrorist stealing Bernie rather than Pelosi’s Speaker podium.)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Vogue Cover; Beatles; Bernie Challenges Ringo; Where’s Bernie (He’s in there – you can stop the slideshow by clicking on the photo); Lunch Atop a Skyscraper (Photographer of Iconic Photo Is Unknown); A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (George Seurat); The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci)

TV

These are also pretty self-explanatory

MOVIES & BROADWAY

Some are obvious to us oldsters, while some are more familiar to newbies.  I tried to put them in chronological order:

Breakfast Club; Basic Instinct (Unlike Sharon Stone, PUH-LEAS Bernie – do NOT uncross your legs!  We’re begging you!); Forrest Gump; Big Lebowski; Hamilton

Several folks created GIFs of the Bernie Meme.  The two I liked best were Bernie on a subway train and on a roller coaster.

Presenting: Lofi Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/BIKFjaabYO

— GOOD (@good) January 20, 2021

pic.twitter.com/11giZ56i1i

— Chanandler Bong 🇺🇸 (@_ChanandlerB_) January 21, 2021

There was a web site that allowed you to create your own Bernie Meme – but it got too expensive for the NYU Masters degree student to post them.

I’ll give the last word to Jen Ellis – who gifted the now-famous mittens to Bernie a couple of years ago.

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