The Democratic presidential hopeful appeared to notice the feathered fellow near his feet on the stage, as did a very tickled crowd. But the bird kicked this bit of political theater up a notch by then leaping onto Sanders's podium, at which point the audience went wild.
"I think that maybe there may be some symbolism here," Sanders said, according to Politico. "I know it doesn’t look like it but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace." (Or maybe it had presidential ambitions of its own?)In any event, the hashtag #BirdieSanders—and related memes—weren't far behind.
Sanders isn't the most hawkish candidate on national security, but if nothing else, he has the support of the Air Force.Screengrab via @portlandia/Twitter