US debate hero Ken Bone explains the origin of his infamous red sweater

The winner of the second presidential debate was neither Trump nor Clinton: it was a man named Ken Bone.

Undecided voter Bone posed a question about energy policy to the candidates, but that wasn’t the reason he was launched to stardom: he shot to stardom for being a red sweater-wearing “Guess Who character” who somehow exists in the real world.

The red sweater, which Bone acknowledged has become “more famous than me” in a follow-up interview on CNN, made him an instant viral star.

He shored up his hero status after explaining why he wore that infamous red sweater — and it’s an origin story akin to finding out where the S on Superman’s chest comes from.

Bone revealed that his debate garb was intended to be a “really nice” olive suit that his mother would have been “very proud to see me wearing on television”.

Despite loving the olive suit, a dramatic twist prevented Bone from wearing it to the Sunday-night debate at Washington University in St Louis.

“Apparently I’ve gained about 30 pounds,” he told CNN host Carol Costello, who struggled to contain her laughter, “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.”

The red sweater was Plan B — and what a mighty Plan B it was.