The most talked about candidate of the debate was Bernie Sanders — by a long shot


Say what you want about Bernie Sanders, but nothing quite gets people talking like the 74-year-old senator from Vermont — not even the reigning king of Google searches, Donald Trump. Even though Trump was actively live-tweeting the Democratic debate on Tuesday, Sanders massively outpaced him in queries on the search engine.
But more significant than dethroning Trump was that Sanders piqued more interest than any of the other Democrats on stage, with searches and mentions spiking almost every time he opened his mouth, The Washington Post reports. The top searches, however, might not have been what Sanders' campaign was hoping for: "Bernie Sanders age," "How old is Bernie Sanders?" and "Is Bernie Sanders Jewish?" were all top questions.
Even so, the interest in the "democratic socialist" was undeniable across social media: Sanders had the most mentions on Facebook and, especially, Twitter, where he thoroughly crushed his opposition. According to Good Morning America, Sanders gained more than twice the number of followers earned by Clinton during the debate, and more than 10 times as many as the most lukewarm candidate on social media, Jim Webb.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While a Gallup poll in June showed that electing a "socialist" president was less appealing to the American public than the possibility of electing a woman, a Muslim, a gay or lesbian, an evangelical Christian, or an atheist, you know what they say: Times, they are a changin' — at least if the internet is any indicator.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders