2021 has just started, but there’s already a bunch of golden memes circulating the internet. With their editing software and a plethora of material to utilize, meme makers have been quite busy indeed—and it’s only February!
There’s been a couple of topics that have been tackled so far, one of which was the shocking Gamestop-Reddit stock situation. However, the biggest meme so far this 2021 is arguably Bernie Sanders at President Biden’s inauguration. The Senator attended the inauguration last January 21 wearing a winter coat, patterned mittens, and an expression that seemed to say that he had other places to be and other things to do.
Naturally, the internet was hooked—and soon, people edited Sanders onto everything and anything. There was even one edit that had him riding on Roach with Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher 3. Even more incredible is the fact that talented gamers have been creating video game mods that added Sanders into the game’s world.
Now, the most recent Bernie discovery is from a Resident Evil 7 mod that replaces Jack Baker, one of the game’s antagonists, with none other than Bernie Sanders sitting on his folding chair from the inauguration. A clip of the mod was posted on Twitter, where we can see Sanders chasing the protagonist Ethan Winters throughout the Baker household.
What makes this even more amusing is the fact that the Senator has a floating shovel, which he uses to break through walls and other items in the house. Similar to the SoulCalibur 6 mod which also added Bernie Sanders to the game—although as a playable character this time—it’s incredibly amusing to watch Bernie in Resident Evil 7 as a murderous man, hopping and scrambling his way through the house as he tries to catch Winters.
Also credit to @ToastedShoes this video LITERALLY made me die of laughter
— Ziva the Diva (@ziva_thediva) January 30, 2021
It’s incredible enough to cleanly edit and paste Senator Sanders onto a different scene, as this alone requires a lot of time and skills, but adding him into a game as a 3D model? That’s a completely different thing! This shows patience and dedication, and modders like ToastedShoes deserve applause.
Even outside of the context of memes, talented individuals who are capable of creating mods for video games are impressive. In fact, just recently, one Resident Evil fan made a fixed camera mod for Resident Evil 7. This made the latest installment in the franchise have the same feel as the first-ever games in the series, where the game’s camera is steady and doesn’t really follow the protagonist’s movements.
We can’t say for sure how long the attention surrounding the Bernie Sanders meme will last. It’s difficult to apply a timeframe when it comes to memes, as some vanish as quickly as they come, while others remain longer than anticipated. For now though, it’s still making the rounds on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Even Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat, joined in on the fun. It’s easy to see why the Bernie Sanders Inauguration meme became incredibly popular, as he can be thrown into any situation. But the extent to which fans have taken the meme is, needless to say, impressive.