The "Bernie Would've Won" meme: What is it, where did it come from and is it true?

When Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, supporters of Bernie Sanders had a message for the Democratic party: "I told you so." In the weeks since Nov. 8, many have insisted Sanders would have beaten Trump had he been the Democratic nominee.

The sentiment is so strong, the cry of "Bernie Would've Won" has gone viral — like all memes great and small, earning its place on Know Your Meme.

But are Bernie Sanders supporters right when they say Sanders would have won the election had he been chosen as the Democratic Nominee? 

The "Bernie Would've Won" meme 

Many Sanders supporters felt betrayed during the 2016 Democratic Primaries when leaked emails revealed Democratic party officials were biased against the Vermont senator. A number of said supporters even protested the convention, rallying around the cry: "Don't blame us if Trump wins."

After the election, Sanders supporters raged against the DNC machine on Twitter, Tumblr and other social media sites. The "Bernie Would've Won" meme takes a myriad of forms, but all express the same idea: that Sanders, had he been given the chance, would have taken down Trump.

Here's what they look like:

Is it true that Bernie Sanders would have won the election?

It's difficult to say with absolute certainty whether or not Sanders would have won the election, although some have speculated that he would have. According to a private pre-election poll cited by the Huffington Post, Sanders "would have beaten Donald Trump by a historic margin if he had been the Democratic nominee." Still, we know the polls haven't exactly been trustworthy sources of information this year.

Many have taken issue with the strong assurance of Sanders' supporters that he would have won the election hands down. The Daily Beast posted an opinion article on Nov. 11th by Michael Tomasky, reminding us all that, had Sanders won the nomination, Mike Bloomberg may have gotten into the race, splitting the vote. 

In addition, others have pointed out that re-articulating Bernie support may not be the best response to the potential first female president losing her chance to break the glass ceiling. 

Among all this speculation, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Sanders what he thought about the election. When asked if he believed he would have won, Sanders told Blitzer: "What good does it do now? I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to do Monday-morning-quarterbacking right now. The election is over. Donald Trump won."