--- title: Ken Bone Becomes Internet's Hero After Presidential Debate description: Ken Bone made headlines when he asked a question during the second presidential debate while clad in a tomato red sweater. canonical: https://time.com/4525241/ken-bone-presidential-debate/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-10T18:39:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:50:17.619Z og:title: Internet Decides This Audience Member Won the Debate og:description: The Internet went wild for him og:url: https://time.com/4525241/ken-bone-presidential-debate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1774d2733f33bd37/6988a961cf40a86053c451a6/ken-bone-second-presidential-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Candidates Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump Hold Second Presidential Debate At Washington University og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Internet Decides This Audience Member Won the Debate twitter:description: The Internet went wild for him twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1774d2733f33bd37/6988a961cf40a86053c451a6/ken-bone-second-presidential-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Debate Audience Member Ken Bone Is the Internet’s New Hero > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6c661cbe-a0f0-4212-bae1-4a0d6e8f3ded&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Debate Audience Member Ken Bones [Watch (HLS stream): Debate Audience Member Ken Bones](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PZ66wgWb.m3u8) (0:13)  _Published 2016-10-10. During the heated clash of Sunday night’s presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, an unexpected winner emerged._  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 10, 2016 6:39 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 10, 2016 6:39 PM UTC During the [heated clash](http://time.com/4524589/second-presidential-debate-donald-trump-nuclear/) of [Sunday night’s presidential debate](http://time.com/4524525/social-media-presidential-debate-clinton-trump-st-louis/) between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, an unexpected winner emerged. It’s Ken Bone, an audience member with excellent taste in [knitwear](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=461347.1&type=10&tmpid=1701&RD%5FPARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fizod-durham-sweater%2Fprod.jump%3F&RD%5FPARM2=ppId%3Dppr5007133448&u1=TIMEkenbone), who stepped forward to ask the candidates a question about meeting America’s energy needs while remaining environmentally friendly while minimizing job loss fossil power plant workers. Bone instantly won the hearts of the American public with his [bright red sweater](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=461347.1&type=10&tmpid=1701&RD%5FPARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fizod-durham-sweater%2Fprod.jump%3F&RD%5FPARM2=ppId%3Dppr5007133448&u1=TIMEkenbone) ([_buy here_](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=461347.1&type=10&tmpid=1701&RD%5FPARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fizod-durham-sweater%2Fprod.jump%3F&RD%5FPARM2=ppId%3Dppr5007133448&u1=TIMEkenbone)), a sartorial choice that almost didn’t happen. In an interview with [_CNN_](http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/10/10/ken-bone-presidential-debate-red-sweater-intv-nr.cnn) on Monday, the morning after the debate, Bone revealed that [the sweater](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=461347.1&type=10&tmpid=1701&RD%5FPARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fizod-durham-sweater%2Fprod.jump%3F&RD%5FPARM2=ppId%3Dppr5007133448&u1=TIMEkenbone) was actually the solution to a fashion crisis he had had earlier. “I had a really nice olive suit, and my mother would have been very proud to see me wearing on television, but apparently I have gained about 30 pounds,” Bone said. “And when I went to get in my car the morning of the debate I split the seat of my pants all the way open. So the [red sweater](http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=93xLBvPhAeE&subid=0&offerid=461347.1&type=10&tmpid=1701&RD%5FPARM1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jcpenney.com%2Fizod-durham-sweater%2Fprod.jump%3F&RD%5FPARM2=ppId%3Dppr5007133448&u1=TIMEkenbone) is plan B. I’m glad it worked out.” He’s reportedly getting flooded with [Facebook friend requests](http://insidestl.com/tma-2-ken-bone-ken-hitchock-nitwittery/1974670), but as for the election, Bone says he is still undecided when it comes to who he’ll be voting for in the polls this November. “Well, I know people hate to hear this but I think I might be more undecided than ever,” he said. “I was leaning very heavily towards Donald Trump but Secretary Clinton impressed me with her composure and with a lot of her answers. So now I think I’m just going to wait for the last political debate and in this cycle you never know what could happen.” Undecided though he may be, Ken Bone remains a true American hero — at least to Twitter users across the nation. > [](https://twitter.com/BarstoolJordie/status/785306908357984256) > [](https://twitter.com/InfiniteRichIs/status/785307103728693248) > [](https://twitter.com/ryan%5Fs%5Fclark/status/785307053942312960) > [](https://twitter.com/tobyhuss/status/785306494287745024) > [](https://twitter.com/knguyen/status/785306471877795840) Watch the question here. ## Transcript What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs, while at the same time reminding environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers. Mr. Trump, two minutes. 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