I Am Once Again Asking Meme
The I am once again asking meme is a still of Bernie Sanders in a winter coat asking for donations to camera. It captions any request you have already made many times, to people who have already ignored it many times, delivered without any visible frustration.
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Where the I am once again asking meme comes from
On 30 December 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders, then a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, posted a short fundraising appeal to his social media accounts. He is outdoors, in a heavy coat, speaking directly to the camera, and he says the line plainly: I am once again asking for your financial support.
Nothing about the video was unusual. Candidates ask for money constantly. What made it travel was the phrasing. Once again does the work of an entire backstory. It admits that the request has been made before, that it did not work, and that it is being made anyway, with no change in tone and no visible irritation.
Captioned versions appeared within days and the format spread widely from early and mid January 2020, first on Reddit and then across Facebook and Instagram. Almost none of the popular versions were about politics. They were about roommates, group chats, printers and unanswered work requests.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 30 December 2019 | Sanders posts the fundraising video to his social accounts. |
| Early January 2020 | An early captioned version circulates on Reddit and picks up traction within days. |
| Mid January 2020 | The format spreads to Facebook and Instagram and settles into its standard non political use. |
| 20 January 2021 | A separate press photograph of Sanders in mittens at the presidential inauguration becomes its own enormous meme. Different image, different moment, constantly confused with this one. |
| 2021 onward | The phrase detaches from the picture and survives as a stock opener in work chat and email. |
Documenting a real politician
This page documents a format, not a candidate. The source is a genuine campaign video from a sitting United States senator, and this site takes no position on him, his party or his policies. That matters practically as well as editorially: the reason the template works for everyone is that the caption almost never has anything to do with politics.
What it means and when to use it
This is a patience format. The humour is not in the request, it is in the repetition, and in the total absence of anger about the repetition. The speaker is not fed up. The speaker has accepted that asking is now simply part of life, like weather.
| Element | Literal reading | How it is actually used |
|---|---|---|
| Once again | An acknowledgement of a previous ask. | The load bearing phrase. Remove it and there is no format left. |
| Financial support | Campaign donations. | Replaced by anything repeatedly ignored: a decision on dinner, the dishes, a set of credentials. |
| The flat delivery | A politician on message. | The tone the caption has to match. Exclamation marks and swearing break it instantly. |
| The winter coat | December weather. | Reads as endurance. He has been out here a while. |
| Using it for a first request | An ask. | Wrong use. Nothing is funny about asking once. |
| Using it for the tenth request | An ask. | Correct use. The audience should recognise the exhaustion behind the calm. |
Captions that work
Two text boxes. The top box says who is asking and who is being asked, and the bottom box carries the sentence itself. Keep the variable at the end short, because the template supplies the whole first half of the line.
- socialMe, to the group chat, every Friday since 2019 I am once again asking for a decision on dinner
- workMe, at the end of every stand up I am once again asking for the credentials
- homeMe, to my flatmate, from the kitchen doorway I am once again asking about the dishes
- techMe, to the printer, at 8:52am I am once again asking for one single page
- techSupport, forty minutes into the call We are once again asking you to restart the router
- petsMe, to the dog, in the rain, at 6am I am once again asking you to go outside
- workMe, in the last minute of the meeting I am once again asking what the action items are
- healthThe hygienist, twice a year, unmoved I am once again asking about flossing
- tvMe, to the streaming app, on episode nine I am once again asking for a resume button
- schoolMe, to a group project, forty hours out I am once again asking somebody to open the document
- familyMy mother, on the family thread, daily She is once again asking whether you have eaten
- weatherMe, to the weather app, holding an umbrella I am once again asking for one accurate hour
Variants and close relatives
| Format | Source | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Bernie in mittens | Press photograph from the inauguration, 20 January 2021 | A completely separate image and moment. Used for detached boredom, not for asking. |
| Text only usage | Work chat and email, 2020 onward | The phrase without the picture. Now common enough that many users have never seen the video. |
| Video edits | Fan made | The original clip redubbed or recaptioned, which keeps the delivery that the still cannot carry. |
| Wording variants | Same template | I am once more asking, and this is the last time I am asking. Both weaken it. The original phrasing is the strongest. |
| Change My Mind | A 2018 photograph of a table sign | The other big appeal to camera format. That one wants an argument, this one wants compliance. |
Common mistakes
- Dropping once again. Those two words are the entire joke. Without them the image is just a man asking for something.
- Making the request angry. Capitals, swearing and exclamation marks all break the format. The calm is what makes it funny.
- Using the mittens photograph with this line. They are two different images from two different events, thirteen months apart, and mixing them signals that you copied the joke without knowing it.
- Writing a long request. The template already spends five words getting to the point. The variable should be three or four words, not a clause.
- Asking for something nobody has ever refused. The request must be one that has plainly already been ignored.
- Attaching a real political argument. The image comes from a campaign, so a partisan caption reads as a political post rather than as a joke, and the audience halves immediately.
Limits and etiquette
Two honest limits. First, this is a photograph of a real, living politician, taken from his own campaign material. Captioning it for an everyday joke is well established and uncontroversial, but attaching it to an argument he did not make, or to a product, puts words and endorsements in a real person’s mouth. Keep it about dishes and printers.
Second, it is dated in a specific way. The video is from December 2019 and the format peaked in the first half of 2020, so the picture reads as a marker of that moment. The sentence, meanwhile, escaped into ordinary speech and is still working. If you want the joke to land in 2026, the phrasing carries further than the image does.
The template frame reproduced here is third-party material, hosted for captioning only; rights holders can use the takedown policy at /dmca/.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the I am once again asking meme come from?
From a fundraising video that Bernie Sanders posted to his social accounts on 30 December 2019, during the campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
What is the full line?
I am once again asking for your financial support.
When did it become a meme?
Captioned versions spread from early and mid January 2020, first on Reddit and then across Facebook and Instagram.
Is this the same as the Bernie mittens meme?
No. The mittens image is a press photograph taken at the presidential inauguration on 20 January 2021 and has nothing to do with the fundraising video.
How many text boxes does the template have?
Two. The top box says who is asking and who is being asked, and the bottom box carries the request itself.
What does the meme actually mean?
It marks a request that has already been made several times and ignored every time, so the humour sits in the patience rather than in the request.
Is the format political?
The source is a campaign video, but nearly all captions are about ordinary repeated requests. This page documents the format and takes no position on the politician.
Is it still used?
Yes, mostly as a stock phrase in chat and email. The image is from 2019 and now reads as a marker of that moment, so the wording travels further than the picture.