Bernie Sanders’ “I Am Once Again Asking for Your Support” Meme: A Deep Dive

The internet loves to remix things: photos, phrases, videos. One of the most enduring recent examples of this is the meme based on Bernie Sanders’ fundraising video in which he says the line: “I am once again asking for your financial support.” Over time this phrase—paired with his image in a winter coat—has been transformed into a widely used meme template. In this blog post, we’ll unpack where it came from, how it took off, why it works, what kinds of variations it spawned, and what it tells us about meme-culture in general.

1. What happened: The Original Video

In late December 2019, Bernie Sanders — a U.S. Senator from Vermont and then a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020 — posted a short fundraising video on his social media platforms. In the video, he wears a heavy winter coat, stands outdoors in what appears to be a snowy or cold environment, and addresses viewers saying:

“The truth is, we have an excellent chance to win the primary and beat Trump. But the only way we can do that is if we have the sufficient financial resources. So I am asking you today to contribute to our campaign before the FEC deadline.” (Refinery29)

The key phrase from that video, “I am once again asking for your financial support,” is what the meme picks up on. The video itself was posted on December 30 2019. (Meming Wiki)

So: the moment itself was meant for serious campaign fundraising. But the imagery (cold-coat, outdoor scene) and the phrasing were ripe for remix.

2. Early Meme Life: How It Spread

Just a few weeks into January 2020, people began using that exact phrase and image to make jokes. According to the site Know Your Meme, the first known meme post using the phrase was from Reddit user 3RunRickyRun4 on January 15 2020 in the subreddit /r/libertarianmeme. (Know Your Meme)

From that point it spread rapidly:

On the same day the Facebook group Being Libertarian posted a version and it got some thousands of reactions. (Know Your Meme)
On Instagram, by January 16 a meme using it had over 100,000 likes. (Know Your Meme)
Media outlets picked it up: Refinery29 wrote about how it had become “the meme we all needed.” (Refinery29)
TIME magazine described how, after that fundraising video, “it was only a matter of time before the memes came along.” (TIME)

In short: within a matter of weeks, the serious campaign message had become a flexible internet meme.

3. Why It Works: Elements of the Meme

Why did this particular phrase + image become so popular as a meme template? We can pick apart some elements:

Strong, defined phrase: The wording “I am once again asking” is formal yet feels personal. It stands out.
Visual signature: The image of Bernie in a heavy coat, standing outside, looks somewhat unusual for a campaign video. The cold-weather attire, his expression, the simplicity—all make the frame memorable.
Relatable structure: The format is “someone asking for something again/once more.” Many people relate to repeated requests or demands. So substitute the “financial support” part with something else.
Flexible context: Because the phrase and image are generic enough, users can replace the “financial support” part with anything—“a break,” “a day off,” “help,” “answers,” etc. That allows broad remix apply.
Timing and cultural context: In early 2020, people were already familiar with fast-internet culture, memes, and the campaign cycle. The oversaturation of serious news means a humorous take can catch on.

Thus, the meme blended a distinctive visual + phrase + a broad emotional template (asking, wanting, repeating) + remixability.

4. Common Variations and Uses

Once the meme template was out, people used it in many different ways. Some common threads:

Replace “financial support” with something else: e.g., “your help,” “your forgiveness,” “a ride,” “a sign,” etc. This allowed the phrase to apply to everyday situations (someone asking friends for favours) or humorous exaggerated ones (asking the universe for answers).
Use the image in contexts unrelated to campaign/fundraising: a student asking for a pass mark, a gamer asking for lives, a developer asking for bug fixes.
Visual edits: People overlay the phrase on top of the image, crop it, use stylised text, sometimes replace Bernie’s face with someone else but keep the line.
Cross-culture references: Because the phrase is formal, sometimes the meme takes a deliberately absurd direction (e.g., medieval-speech versions: “I am once again requesting thine assistance”).
Use in political commentary: Some versions return closer to the original campaign context: asking for votes, donations, campaign support—but often in a tongue-in-cheek way.

The meme template thus became a tool: whenever someone is asking again for something, this meme fits.

5. Cultural Impact & Significance

While on the surface it’s just a funny meme, it ties into larger patterns in internet culture and political communication.

a) Memeification of politics Bernie Sanders had long been a figure of internet meme culture. His campaign in 2016 and 2020, his persona (straight-talking, elder politician calling out norms) made him a natural subject. (Wikipedia) This particular meme shows how a serious political message can be repurposed into humour, and thus enter popular culture beyond its original context.

b) Participatory culture The ease with which the meme template could be reused meant many people could participate. It wasn’t just official campaign material—it became crowd-edited, user-generated. That is a core driver of meme longevity: the ability for many people to make versions and share them.

c) Everyday applicability One reason the meme spread so widely is that you didn’t have to be a political junkie to get it. If you’ve ever asked for help, or been asked for help, or seen repeated requests, you can map that onto the Bernie image. That everyday resonance makes the template useful in multiple contexts.

d) Visual shorthand Memes act as a kind of compressed language: a known image + caption evoke a shared reference. With this meme, people instantly recognise “once again asking” as a joke about repeated requests. That shorthand accelerates communication online.

e) The boundary of sincerity and satire What’s interesting is the interplay between the original sincerity of Bernie’s message and the satirical uses. The meme doesn’t always mock Bernie—it mocks the concept of asking, again and again—and by extension it reflects fatigue, humour, frustration. Because Bernie was making a sincere ask for campaign dollars, using his image to ask for something trivial becomes funny. But that also points to how politics enters meme culture: serious things become material for play.

6. Timeline Recap

December 30, 2019: Bernie Sanders posts the fundraising video featuring the phrase “I am once again asking for your financial support.” (Meming Wiki)
January 15, 2020: First known meme version posted on Reddit (/r/libertarianmeme). (Know Your Meme)
Mid‐January 2020: Meme spreads across Instagram, Facebook, Reddit with many edits. (Know Your Meme)
February 2020: Media outlets such as Time and Refinery29 note the meme’s viral status. (TIME)
2020 onward: Template continues to be used in broader meme contexts; becomes part of the meme lexicon.

7. Reflection: What the Meme Tells Us

1. On the power of context and expression The phrase and image—without heavy editing—were enough to provoke meme creation. This shows how the right tone (a bit earnest, a bit formal) plus the right visual (Bernie in coat) can become meme fuel.

2. On meme adaptability The best memes are those that let people plug in their own experiences. This one did: three key parts (image of Bernie, phrase “I am once again asking”, and the object of request) allow endless variations. That’s why it keeps circulating.

3. On politics and pop culture Politics isn’t separate from meme culture anymore. Politicians become image-sources. Their serious messages can be remixed into humour. This shifts how we think of political communication—not just speeches or ads, but visuals turned into viral formats.

4. On the role of repeated asking Interestingly, the meme’s appeal also touches a psychological note: being asked again, the notion of repeated request, taps into frustration, tiredness, comedic resignation. The meme works because many people have felt “Here we go again… another ask.” The humor is in that repetition.

5. On Internet culture’s timeline The meme emerged quickly—within weeks—but it has had staying power. It’s a good example of how a meme can go from grassroots Reddit post to global template. It also shows how media coverage (Time, Refinery29) can further legitimise a meme’s status.

8. Some Critiques and Considerations

While the meme is mostly appreciated for its humour, there are a few things worth noting:

Because the original context was political fundraising, the meme sometimes flirts with issues of sincerity vs mockery. Some might argue that turning a campaign ask into a joke trivialises political fundraising.
The meme template might lose its freshness over time—any widely reused format risks becoming stale.
Not all users may know the original context (Bernie’s campaign). The meme works without full knowledge, but some nuance is lost.
Memes often simplify complex ideas. The phrase is extracted from a campaign message about democratic socialism, campaign finance, etc. The meme abstracts it into “asking,” which is fine as humour—but the original depth is gone.

9. How You Can Use It (or Recognise It)

If you want to use the meme, or just recognise it when you see it, here are some pointers:

Look for the phrase: “I am once again asking…” – often completed with some humorous request.
The image: Bern ie in winter coat, outdoors, often hands visible or standing.
The template’s structure: Person (Bernie) → repeated ask → some object the ask is about.
In usage: Personal everyday context (“I am once again asking for a holiday”), workplace jokes (“I am once again asking for the WiFi to work”), academic jokes (“I am once again asking for my grade to be reviewed”), etc.
If you’re making one yourself: use the image, overlay your own request text, play on the idea of repeating the ask.

10. Final Thoughts

The “I Am Once Again Asking for Your Financial Support” meme is a perfect case study of how a political message can slip into mainstream culture, morph into humour, and stay relevant because of its adaptability and emotional resonance. It reminds us that behind every meme there’s often a real moment—a speech, a photo, a campaign ad—but that the internet repurposes it in ways that speak to shared experiences.

Bernie Sanders probably didn’t foresee his fundraising video becoming a meme template that students, office-workers, gamers, and social media denizens worldwide would use. Yet here we are, weeks later, months later, still seeing the phrase remixed, reused, reconsidered.

If you ever find yourself repeating a request, or feeling like your ask is overdue, you might just think: “I am once again asking for… [insert your ask here].”

And in that moment, you’re part of the meme.

References:

“I Am Once Again Asking for Your Financial Support” – Know Your Meme. (Know Your Meme)
“I Am Once Again Asking for Your Financial Support” – Meming Wiki. (Meming Wiki)
“Bernie Sanders’ Latest Fundraising Ad Is the Meme We All Needed” – Refinery29. (Refinery29)
“The Bernie Sanders Meme Pile On Has Commenced With ‘Bernie Board’ and ‘Once Again Asking for Your Support’” – Time. (TIME)
Wikipedia – Bernie Sanders, Internet culture section. (Wikipedia)

If you like, I can gather 10 of the best remixes of this meme with commentary, or show how it played out in different countries. Would you like that?