Ken Bone (activist)

Ken Bone
Bone at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
Born1982 (age 43–44)
OccupationPower plant worker
Known for2016 presidential debate appearance
Children1

Kenneth Bone (born 1982) is an American power plant worker who became a viral phenomenon after asking a question as an undecided voter at the October 9 presidential debate during the 2016 United States election. Bone subsequently received national media attention and inspired a large number of Internet memes.

2016 election

At the October 9 presidential debate during the 2016 United States elections, Ken Bone, a coal power plant operator from Belleville, Illinois, was one of several local undecided voters invited to participate in the debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Bone asked the question:

What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?

Bone quickly became a viral sensation on social media, immediately gaining over 80,000 followers on Twitter after the debate. Multiple parody and fan pages were created under his name on various platforms. Bone's red sweater, use of a disposable camera before and after the debate, and general demeanor was received positively by viewers of the event, and spawned numerous Internet memes. Bone maintained that he would remain an undecided voter after the debate. He ultimately voted for Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

After the debate, Bone made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, @midnight, and ESPN College GameDay. Bone was also parodied on Saturday Night Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Bone capitalized on his sudden fame by endorsing ridesharing company Uber with a tweet, filming a commercial for Izod, and partnering with merchandise company Represent to market T-shirts. An emoji with Bone's likeness was briefly available on Twitter, and would appear whenever the hashtag #MyVote2016 was used. Bone also auctioned off the red sweater he wore during the debate, raising $10,000 for the charity Greater St. Louis Honor Flight.

On October 13, 2016, Bone hosted a Reddit AMA under the username "StanGibson18". After the post went live, Bone received backlash for comments he previously made using his personal account regarding the 2014 celebrity nude photo leak and killing of Trayvon Martin. As a result of the media attention, Bone was also swatted and received threats directed at him and his family.

Post-election

Bone with an attendee at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference

Bone continued to make public appearances related to United States politics after the 2016 election, appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher and at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference. Since 2016, Bone expressed dissatisfaction towards the Trump administration, first implying that he would likely vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and later endorsing Andrew Yang. Bone voted for Libertarian Party nominee Jo Jorgensen in the 2020 election. He was the subject of an October 2020 New Yorker documentary, in which he reflects on the 2016 election and the effect fame had on his life. In October 2026, Bone revealed that he had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, explaining that his previous vote for Jorgensen had been a protest vote.

8 days before the midterm elections in November 2026, Bone criticised the Republican party for focusing too much on trans people, mental hospital hoaxes, Cheesecake Factory and Islamophobia.

Personal life

Bone is married and has a son.

References

  1. 1 2 Ahmed, Saeed (October 10, 2016). "And the winner of the presidential debate is... Ken Bone | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Stump, Scott (October 11, 2016). "Ken Bone is the hero America needs right now". TODAY.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (October 17, 2016). "The real winner of the presidential debate has been crowned". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  4. ↑ Reinstein, Julia (October 10, 2016). "Just 27 Really, Really Good Tweets About Debate Hero Ken Bone". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Chan, Melissa (October 11, 2016). "10 of the Best Ken Bone Memes on the Internet". Time. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Garber, Megan (October 10, 2016). "Ken Bone, the Hero America Needed". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ Nelson, Louis (October 10, 2016). "Internet phenomenon Ken Bone: Debate 'got very uncomfortable from up close'". POLITICO. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Hall, Louise (October 7, 2020). "2016 viral debate star Ken Bone reveals who he voted for this year". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  9. ↑ Chan, Melissa (October 11, 2016). "Ken Bone's Jimmy Kimmel Interview Shows Why the Internet Loves Him". Time. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  10. ↑ Holub, Christian. "Jimmy Kimmel Asks Debate Star Ken Bone If He's Still Undecided". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ Washington, Arlene (October 13, 2016). "Ken Bone Reacts to Favorite Twitter Mentions, Sexy Halloween Costume on '@Midnight'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Greer, Jordan (October 15, 2016). "Ken Bone makes surprise appearance on 'College GameDay,' and we're really still doing this | Sporting News". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "The most famous 'undecided voter' has big problems with Trump". cnn.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Watch Saturday Night Live Tackle Ken Bone and Trump's Bizarre Debate Behavior". Vanity Fair. October 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ Leibowitz, Lauren (October 16, 2016). "'Weird Little Creep' Ken Bone Wins the 'SNL' Cold-Open Debate". Thrillist. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ken Bone may have violated FTC rules with Uber tweet (updated)". Engadget. October 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ O'Reilly, Lara. "Ken Bone is starring in an ad for the brand that makes his now famous red sweater". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ Vielma, Antonio José (October 13, 2016). "Ken Bone lands Uber endorsement and t-shirt deal". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ Wehner, Mike (November 8, 2016). "Ken Bone gets his own Twitter emoji—about 15 minutes too late". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  20. ↑ Collins, Eliza. "Ken Bone is featured in an Election Day emoji, because of course he is". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  21. ↑ "I'm American citizen, undecided voter, loving husband Ken Bone, Welcome to the Bone Zone! AMA". Reddit. October 14, 2016. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ken Bone Revealed Freaky, NSFW Reddit History by Accident". GQ. October 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ Earl, Jennifer (October 14, 2016). "The internet's calling out Ken Bone over his Reddit history – CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  24. ↑ Sykes, Tom (October 14, 2016). "Ken Bone's Disturbing Reddit History Shows He's Not Nearly as Adorable as We Thought". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (October 14, 2016). "Ken Bone leaves seedy comment trail on Reddit". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Ken Bone Returns: Bill Maher Grills Viral Sensation on Who He Voted For". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Ken Bone Is Going to Appear at CPAC". Time. February 21, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  28. ↑ Bowden, John (February 3, 2020). "Ken Bone endorses Andrew Yang for president: '#YangGang all the way!'". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  29. ↑ Wyrich, Andrew (February 3, 2020). "Ken Bone dons iconic red sweater to endorse Andrew Yang". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  30. ↑ Fry, Naomi (October 14, 2020). "Ken Bone and the Legend of the Undecided Voter". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Ken Bone (@kenbone18) on X". X (formerly Twitter). October 9, 2026. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
  32. ↑ Social media posting on X, formerly Twitter Ken Bone (@kenbone18) (October 26, 2026)
  33. ↑ Chester, Tim (October 10, 2016). "Ken Bone: From regular guy in a red sweater to America's last hope". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.