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By Irene Katz Connelly February 3, 2020

In this year’s crowded Democratic primary field, where death by a thousand tweets can strike at any moment, the pressure is on for candidates to seem #relatable to their supporters. Elizabeth Warren films herself calling hundreds of donors; Pete Buttigieg’s campaign has embraced a jazzercise-style dance to Panic At The Disco’s single high hopes; and Bernie Sanders is breaking the Internet with a video of himself shuffling down a wintry suburban street, enunciating into a hand-held camera with the very recognizable discomfort and determination of your dad making his first ever FaceTime call.

In the advertisement, which the Sanders campaign has disseminated through Twitter and other social media platforms, Bernie asks his supporters to donate to his campaign ahead of Federal Election Campaign fundraising deadline.

It soon emerged as the appeal that launched a thousand memes.

As it turns out, his awkward-but-earnest plea did resonate with voters, who used the clip to comment on many of life’s cringe-worthy moments

Like the agony of asking parents for yet another favor.

Or finding a recognizable beer to drink.

Meanwhile, one Twitter user turned the ad spot into a take on “Cats.”

While someone else reimagined the candidate as Ariana Grande (one of the senator’s most, um, vocal supporters).

And yet another saw an opportunity for a “Talking Heads” throwback.

In today’s volatile Twitterscape, it’s a testament to Bernie’s appeal that the vast majority of “financial support” memes are good-natured. And while we all have a little fun at his expense, Bernie may have the last laugh: as he says in the video, he’s received more contributions from more individual people than any presidential candidate in American history.

Irene Katz Connelly is an intern at the Forward. You can contact her at connelly@forward.com.

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