Steve Kornacki’s back in Gap khakis, and Twitter is elated.
The MSNBC news anchor whose star burned brightly during the 2020 election season has returned to television screens across the nation in light of Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoffs—two leftover races from November wherein none of the state’s candidates reached the 50-percent threshold that would solidify their win.
As the returns rolled in Tuesday evening for races pitting Republican Kelly Loeffler versus Democrat Raphael Warnock and conservative David Perdue facing off with 33-year-old liberal challenger Jon Ossoff, Kornacki could be seen sporting his now-beloved getup to present the county-by-county analysis: a white button-down with the sleeves rolled to just below the elbow, slightly mussed hair, studious-looking glasses and of course, the now famous Kornacki Khakis.
Actress Jennifer Esposito tweeted, “Kornacki, In his khakis, for the win!” while Twitter user @francescahouseh wrote, “Kornacki and the khakis are back. My soul feels settled.”
As votes for the next president rolled in over the course of five agonizing days in November, Kornacki’s unchanging garb became the focus of fervent attention on Twitter. Users coined the nickname “Map Daddy” to describe the anchor, who tirelessly gesticulated in front of his digitized map of the nation—and all of its states and counties—as he tabulated the election’s results.
At the time, news outlets reported that Kornacki’s pants came from Gap—the Modern Khakis with GapFlex, to be exact, which are now on sale for $40. A spokesperson for the normcore mall brand said the retailer had seen a “dramatic increase in online traffic and within a day,” and the retailer confirmed a 90 percent unit sales increase for the product online.
On Tuesday, the Twitter thirst for Kornacki’s khakis returned in full force, driving the anchor to trending status on the social site, and one wonders if Gap’s Palomino Brown pants might be in for another bump at retail.
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Television producer @franklinleonard tweeted, “So he’s really not going to launch the Kornacki’s Khakis kapsule kollection tonight, huh? Feels like a missed opportunity.”
Kornacki is not the only Map Daddy to have made headlines during the 2020 election. CNN’s John King could also be seen gracing the screen nearly 24 hours a day for the duration of the contests in an impossibly crisp suit-and-tie combo, with an equally vocal fan base on Twitter. But despite admiration for the anchor’s work ethic, formal wear sales have continued to contract, with suiting brands like Canada’s Harry Rosen pivoting to business casual apparel as many shoppers continue to work from home. Kornacki’s no muss, no fuss uniform clearly proved more compelling and relatable for everyday consumers, many of whom have been under varying degrees of quarantine since March.