United States: Bernie Sanders raises $ 1.8 million thanks to his photo of him bundled up
The photo of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at Joe Biden's swearing-in on January 20, 2021 has become an internet meme.
Brendan SMIALOWSKI AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
US Senator Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday, January 27, to donate to charities the sum of $ 1.8 million raised with the sales of products stamped with the now famous AFP photo showing him alone, bundled up with folded arms, during the nomination of Joe Biden.
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Immortalized by AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski, this moment
inspired thousands of memes
, humorous photomontages, around the world, reinforcing the former progressive presidential candidate, with a passionate tone and often grumpy air, in his status as an internet star.
The independent senator from Vermont raised $ 1.8 million "
in five days for charities
" in this rural northeastern US state, through sales of products showing him "
with his mittens
" at day of the inauguration of the new Democratic president on January 20, a statement said.
Out of stocks on derivative products
T-shirts, sweaters and other related products went on sale on its site on the evening of January 21 and stocks were exhausted in thirty minutes.
New products added this weekend had all been sold on Monday morning, said this press release.
"
Jane,
" his wife "
and I are in awe of the creativity shown by so many
[...]
and we are delighted to help Vermonters in need,
" he wrote in a statement.
"
But even this sum cannot replace congressional action and I will do what I can in Washington to make sure workers in Vermont and across the country get the support they need in the midst of the world's worst crisis." that we have been through since the Great Depression,
”added the senator, a self-proclaimed socialist.
The photographer impressed by the virality of his shot
Getty Images, the agency that distributes AFP's photos in the United States, "
will donate the proceeds
" from the
merchandising deal
to the charity Meals on Wheels, the statement said.
Photographer Brendan Smialowski considers
the evolution of this image "
and all its variations
"
"
impressive
".
“
When I took this photo, I thought it was a good time, worth a few shots,
” he says.
"
While I never expect, and never seek, that my work will go viral or convert to memes, it doesn't surprise me in the sense that the internet, and social media, are unpredictable,
" he said. -he adds.
“The
Internet looks like a wild animal, hard to anticipate and hard to tame.
"
►Also read: Interview - United States: despite his renunciation, Bernie Sanders made "move" the Democratic Party
(with AFP)
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