Bernie Sanders, bundled up at Biden inauguration, goes viral in a meme

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders sit socially distanced as he attends the Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2021. Caroline Brehman/Pool via REUTERS

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, wrapped up in a winter coat and mittens at the presidential inauguration, is now a fashion icon for looking like he was running an errand at the historic event.

Amid a sea of designer coats, the 79-year-old senator made a sartorial statement on Wednesday by showing up in a jacket by snowboarding equipment company Burton and home-made wool mittens, carrying a large brown envelope.

FILE PHOTO: Senator Bernie Sanders wears mittens as he attends the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Pool/File Photo

His practical Vermont dad look became an instant meme. (https://tinyurl.com/y4talcrt)

"Your uncle Bernie stepped out to the bodega for a cream cheese and lox bagel and got trapped at an inauguration," Lester Kiewit wrote in a tweet. https://twitter.com/lesterkk/status/1351922786747486208

An image of Sanders sitting arms and legs crossed, captured by AFP, inspired netizens to place him in both familiar and unlikely settings.

FILE PHOTO: Senator Bernie Sanders attends the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Pool/File Photo

Several memes show the native New Yorker on mass transit, including chilling to music on headphones. https://twitter.com/good/status/1352017084897611779 https://twitter.com/SoundTransit/status/1351988120032428032

Elsewhere, he shares a park bench with actor Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump," sits behind Chewbacca and Hans Solo in "Star Wars," and appears on desolate planets. https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1352153066951372801 https://twitter.com/TheRealTeresaC/status/1352046863474696200 https://twitter.com/WonkingClass/status/1351978643627630594

One meme shows him in a black-and-white photo from the World War Two Yalta Conference in 1945, seated next to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. https://mobile.twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1352099532138541060

Vermont teacher Jen Ellis said in a tweet that she gifted Sanders the mittens, which she made from repurposed wool sweaters, two years ago. https://twitter.com/vtawesomeness/status/1219443079402459137

As for the envelope, people joked that Sanders, who ran against eventual winner Joe Biden for the 2020 Democratic nomination, was running errands after Biden's inauguration.

"Bernie looks fully prepared to leave this event early to mail his taxes and cash a cashier's check," @BoxrecGrey tweeted.

Sanders' attire was a given for anyone familiar with the self-proclaimed social democrat's practical approach to politics.

"Make no mistake, this is how Bernie would've shown up to his own inauguration as well," tweeted @TimDuffy.

(Writing by Richard Chang, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)