Image Of Sen. Bernie Sanders In Mittens During Inauguration Goes Viral; Even CTA Joins Meme Game

CHICAGO (CBS Chicago/CBS News) -- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) has gone viral with his mittens and other winter attire for the inauguration on Wednesday.

The Chicago Transit Authority joined in the trend late Wednesday by superimposing the viral image of Sanders onto one of an empty train.

Sanders was seen sitting cross-legged in a folding chair at the inauguration, wearing a mask, black trousers, a heavy winter coat, and some patterned wool mittens.

In a scene befitting of a Chicago winter, the CTA superimposed Sanders' photo onto a seat on an empty train – issuing the image with the caption, "Doors closing."

Other Twitter users placed Sanders in his chair as if he were holding dibs for a parking space on a snowy Chicago day.

Beyond Chicago, Zabar's grocery store on Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City – a popular place where crowds sometimes have to be patient waiting for gourmet deli items – placed Sanders in his chair next to a checkout counter with the caption, "When they still haven't called your number at the fish counter."

Sanders' mittens were made by Jen Ellis, a teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, who makes the mittens from repurposed wool, local paper Seven Days reported.

During an interview on CBS News following the inauguration, "CBS This Morning" anchor Gayle King asked Sanders about his outfit.

"I don't know if you've checked your Twitter feed, people have lots to say about your outfit today," she said. "Some say he looked like he was going to shovel snow, some say he looked like he was standing in line at the post office."

"People are loving your gloves. Do you want to talk to us about your attire today, what you had in mind?" King continued.

"Well, you know, in Vermont, we dress warm — we know something about the cold, and we're not so concerned about good fashion, we want to keep warm, and that's what I did today," Sanders replied.

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• Chicago Transit Authority