Trudeau co-opts Sanders meme to urge Canadians from traveling

MONTREAL: Bernie Sanders may be most familiar in a US political context, but that hasn't stopped Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from using a now famous meme of the Vermont senator to warn people to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, Trudeau posted a photo of himself giving a press conference from his lawn on Twitter, with the now famous image of a seated, mitten-clad Sanders superimposed in the background.

The viral Sanders photo, snapped by AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski at US President Joe Biden's inauguration, shows the senator huddled in a chair, arms folded and also sporting an average-guy winter coat.

Since it was taken, people around the world have superimposed Sanders on famous works of art and family photos.

Referencing a recent incident in which his son appeared in the window while he spoke to the media, Trudeau wrote: "It was one thing when my son crashed my press conference a month or so ago."

"But this..." he said, referring to Sanders' supposed appearance outside his house. "Now is not the time to travel. Stay home - and by that, I mean your own home."

Sanders has been photoshopped in recent days sitting on the Iron Throne from "Games of Thrones" and alongside Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in Yalta in 1945.

On Friday, Trudeau warned Canadians not to travel, saying further pandemic restrictions may be around the corner that would make it harder to fly home from trips abroad.