Bernie Sanders was cold. It was January 2021, the inauguration of Joe Biden, and the Senator from Vermont was sitting in a folding chair wearing chunky brown mittens and a practical olive parka. That image went nuclear. But before the mittens, before the grumpy-chic fashion statement that took over the internet, there was a different, more persistent image that defined the Sanders digital legacy: the i'm once again asking meme.
You know the one. He's standing outside, looking straight into the lens, wearing a heavy coat, and the caption usually says something about money. Or snacks. Or a favor you’ve asked your roommate for ten times already. It’s a screenshot from a campaign video where he literally says, "I am once again asking for your financial support."
The thing is, memes usually have the shelf life of an open avocado. They're green and vibrant for ten minutes and then they turn into brown sludge. This one didn't. It stuck. It became a universal shorthand for the awkward, slightly annoying, but totally necessary act of asking for something you probably shouldn't have to ask for again.
The Day the Meme Was Born
Let’s get the facts straight because the timeline actually matters for why this hit so hard. It was December 2019. The 2020 Democratic primary was heating up, and Sanders was leaning heavily into his grassroots funding model. No corporate PACs, no billionaire donors. Just $27 at a time.
He posted a video to his social media channels. In it, he’s bracing against the chill—it looks like Vermont or maybe Iowa in the winter—and he delivers the line with that trademark Brooklyn-meets-Burlington rasp. "I am once again asking for your financial support." He wasn't trying to be funny. He was being urgent. He was trying to pay for a campaign that was fighting against the biggest political machines in the country.
But the internet doesn’t care about urgency. It cares about relatability.
Within days, the screencap was everywhere. It started on Reddit and Twitter (now X) almost instantly. People realized that the phrase "I am once again asking" is a perfect linguistic template. It’s polite but firm. It’s repetitive but desperate. It’s every mother asking their kid to put their shoes away, and every gamer asking their squad to actually play the objective for once.
Why This Specific Image Traveled So Far
Honestly, it’s the coat. If Bernie had been wearing a crisp suit in a studio with perfect lighting, we wouldn’t be talking about this today. The "grumpy grandpa in a parka" aesthetic creates a specific kind of trust. It looks authentic. It looks like he’s actually out there doing the work.
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Cultural critics often talk about "authenticity" as a buzzword, but for a meme to go viral, it needs a "vibe" that people want to inhabit. The vibe here is persistence.
The Psychology of the Ask
There is a psychological phenomenon where we find humor in the repetition of a losing battle. Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill is a tragedy; Bernie asking for $2.70 for the millionth time is a meme. We relate to the struggle.
Think about your own life.
- How many times have you asked your cat to get off the counter?
- How many times has your boss asked for that "urgent" report?
- How many times has Netflix asked if you’re "still watching" while you're three bags of chips deep into a binge?
The i'm once again asking meme gives us a way to voice that frustration without actually being a jerk about it. It uses Bernie as a shield. "I'm not nagging you," the meme says, "I'm just participating in a cultural moment."
How the Internet Mutated the Message
The best memes are modular. You can swap out the ending of the sentence and the joke still lands.
By early 2020, we weren't just asking for financial support. We were asking for:
- The Wi-Fi password at a party where we don't know anyone.
- A crumb of serotonin during a long winter.
- The release date of a video game that’s been delayed four times.
- Literally anyone to pay attention to the climate crisis.
One of the most famous variations involved the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Players would post the meme with the caption "I am once again asking for you to buy my turnips for more than 40 bells." It crossed over from politics into every niche imaginable. That’s the hallmark of a "Tier 1" meme. It doesn't need the original context to be funny. You don't even need to know who Bernie Sanders is to understand the feeling of the image.
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The Longevity Factor: Why Isn't It Dead?
Most memes die because they get "normiefied." A brand uses it in a cringey way on LinkedIn, or a politician tries to use it to look cool, and the "cool" kids move on.
Sanders' team did something smart: they embraced it but didn't over-exploit it. When the mitten meme happened later, they put it on a sweatshirt and raised millions for charity (specifically Meals on Wheels Vermont). By keeping the meme tied to the person’s actual identity—someone who is constantly, relentlessly asking for things on behalf of others—it never felt fake.
Also, let’s be real. The world is kind of a mess. We are constantly in a state of "once again asking" for things to be better. As long as there is systemic frustration, this meme has a job to do. It’s the official mascot of the "I can't believe we're still doing this" department.
Technical Breakdown: The Visual Language
- The Medium Shot: The framing is tight enough to see his expression but wide enough to see the environment.
- The Eye Contact: He’s looking at you. It’s a direct address.
- The Text Overlay: Usually white Impact font or the standard Twitter-style caption bar. It’s low-fi. Low-fi feels real.
Common Misconceptions About the Meme
People sometimes think this was a staged photo op. It wasn't. It was a 10-second clip from a much longer video about the state of the 2020 race.
Another misconception: that it’s only used by left-leaning people. Not true. The i'm once again asking meme has been co-opted by every side of the political aisle, mostly because the feeling of being ignored by "the system" is a bipartisan sentiment. Whether you're asking for tax cuts or healthcare, the pose works.
Interestingly, some people confuse this with the "I am once again" phrasing used in other contexts. But the Sanders version is the definitive one. It has a gravity to it. It feels heavy.
Lessons for Content Creators and Marketers
If you're trying to capture lightning in a bottle like this, you have to look for the "High Stakes, Low Polish" moments.
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Polished content rarely becomes a meme. It’s too perfect. There’s no "handle" for the public to grab onto. The Sanders meme works because it's unpolished. He looks tired. He looks like he’s been outside for three hours.
If you want your brand or your message to resonate, stop trying to look like a Super Bowl commercial. Try to look like a guy in a parka who just wants his message heard.
Making the Meme Work for You
If you're going to use this meme in 2026, you can't just post the original and expect a million likes. The internet has moved into "meta" territory. To make it land today, you have to subvert it.
- Layer it: Use the Bernie format to talk about other memes.
- Hyper-localize it: Make it about a specific struggle in your industry (e.g., "I am once again asking my client to send the high-res logo and not a screenshot from a Word doc").
- Video Remixes: Short-form video (TikTok/Reels) thrives on using the audio of his voice over unrelated visuals, like a dog staring at a treat.
The i'm once again asking meme isn't just a political relic. It's a permanent piece of the digital lexicon. It’s the "Screaming Woman vs. Cat" or the "Distracted Boyfriend" of the political world. It’s a way to express our collective exhaustion with a smile.
And honestly, as long as we’re all still struggling to get our point across in an increasingly noisy world, we’ll probably keep once again asking for your attention.
To use this effectively in your own digital strategy, start by identifying the most repetitive, slightly annoying pain point your audience faces. Use the meme to poke fun at that shared struggle. It builds instant rapport because it shows you're "in on the joke" of how frustrating daily life or business can be. Just remember: keep the text concise and the "ask" relatable, and don't try to make it look too professional. The soul of this meme is in its grit.