Chants of "Fuck Joe Biden" began during sporting events in early September 2021. On October 2, 2021, during a televised interview with theSparks 300 race winnerBrandon Brown atTalladega Superspeedway inTalladega, Alabama,NBC Sports reporterKelli Stavast incorrectly described the chant in the background as "Let's Go Brandon", which sparked the meme.[1] The slogan has become well known through use byRepublican Party politicians and critics of Biden.[2][3] The phrase quickly spread to popular culture, with rap songs using the phrase placing high onrecord charts.
TheWashington Examiner reported that "Fuck Joe Biden" was chanted by some attendees at aMegadeth concert in September 2021,[9] and at an October 2021 protest in response to avaccine mandate for educators in New York City.[10]
The portion of the Brandon Brown interview in which the crowd chants "Fuck Joe Biden", and the interviewer says, "Let's go, Brandon"Race car driverBrandon Brown in October 2021
On October 2, 2021, racing driverBrandon Brown was being interviewed byNBC Sports reporterKelli Stavast at theTalladega Superspeedway inLincoln, Alabama, following hisNASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the2021 Sparks 300, which was shortened due to darkness.[11][12] Fans were chanting "Fuck Joe Biden",[13] and this became audible to viewers of the broadcast.[14][1] On the live broadcast, while wearing a headset,[15] reporter Stavast stated, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'"[3][11][16] As of December 2023, Stavast has not clarified if she misunderstood the chant or intentionally misquoted it. A reporter with theAssociated Press said that the chant was "at first difficult to make out".[11][17]
Footage of the interview wentviral,[1] leading to the adoption of the phrase by critics ofPresident Biden as an expression of antipathy toward him.[18][2][14] It has also been reported as a protest against perceived liberalbias in mainstream media, based on speculation that the reporter's description of the crowd's chant was intended to conceal anti-Biden sentiment.[2][14]
According toThe Independent, on October 19, "The anti-Biden war cry 'Let's Go Brandon' is no longer a conservative media phenomenon, it's infiltrating mainstream popular culture and is now number one and two oniTunes, knockingAdele'snew single into third place."[12]
As the phrase began to increase in use, Brandon Brown found the phrase amusing[20] and tweeted: "To all the other Brandons out there, You're welcome! Let's go us".[1] In private, he was ambivalent about the phrase because it overshadowed his Talladega win and threatened to scare off corporate sponsors leery of controversy.[20] He planned to ignore the phrase, but later worried that his silence was perceived as a tacit endorsement of the sentiment.[20] In October 2021, Brown'sBrandonbilt Motorsports team was struggling to acquire sponsorship, as companies were hesitant to support him due to his indirect association with the chant and its political undertones.[11][21] In December 2021, Brown, who is a Republican, said he had remained quiet during its proliferation because he had "zero desire to be involved in politics," before expressing his wish for it to be used in a positive context instead.[20] Brown took a more mixed stance in an op-ed forNewsweek, in which he said he was "not going to endorse anyone" or be silent about issues important to him.[22]
On November 5, 2021,NASCAR president Steve Phelps denounced any implied association with the slogan, saying that the organization does not want to be associated with politics on either the left or the right.[15]
LinguistJohn McWhorter analyzed the linguistic attributes of the chant inThe Atlantic, likening the use of "Brandon" to ahlonipha – a substitution of a forbidden word. He wrote that the anti-Biden euphemism has a similar tone to the wordSNAFU, which stands for "Situation Normal – All Fucked Up", or to the word "cuckservatives" (aportmanteau of "cuckold" and "conservatives") which is used by somenationalists orpaleoconservatives to describe neoconservatives perceived as being in factliberals. McWhorter described the Let's Go Brandon phenomenon as "simply fascinating", and a "wild, woolly kink in the intersection of language, politics, wit, and creativity."[23]
On November 20, 2021, the editorial board of thePittsburgh Post-Gazette said that the chant "reveals a moral bankruptcy of those who chant it even in church".[24] In a November 23, 2021, opinion piece forThe Washington Post,Marc Thiessen, a former chief speechwriter for presidentGeorge W. Bush, commented that the chant was tame compared to what has been said about other presidents. Initially, Thiessen was not a fan of the chant, but concluded his comments with, "it is a perfectly harmless and humorous way for Americans to express their frustration at a flailing – and failing – presidency."[25]
Republican politicians have used the phrase publicly. On October 21, 2021, Republican congressmanBill Posey concluded remarks on the House floor with "Let's go, Brandon".[2]Texas GovernorGreg Abbott used the phrase in an October 22 tweet.[26] He attributed the popularity of the phrase to frustration with Biden's "disastrous policies", including his handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic and thesouthern border.[27] The following week, Republican representativeJeff Duncan wore aface mask with the phrase printed on it on the House floor.[28] SenatorTed Cruz posed with a "Let's Go Brandon" sign that was hung inHouston at the2021 World Series.[11] Later in 2021, a rapidly increasing number of national Republican politicians explicitly supported or referred to the phrase.[29][30][31]
On November 12, 2021, when asked about Biden's views regarding the phrase,White House Press SecretaryJen Psaki responded, "I don't think he spends much time focused on it or thinking about it."[32]
While Biden and First LadyJill Biden were taking phone calls forNORAD's Santa tracker hotline on December 24, 2021, a caller ended his chat by saying, "Merry Christmas and let's go Brandon," to which Biden smiled and responded, "Let's go Brandon, I agree."[33][34]
At the 2022White House Correspondents' Dinner, Biden acknowledged the phrase by joking, "Republicans seem to support one fella, some guy named Brandon. He's having a good year, I'm kind of happy for him."[35]
In April 2022, Colorado state representativeDave Williamsran for the House of Representatives and attempted to be listed on the ballot under the name "Dave 'Let's Go Brandon' Williams".Colorado Secretary of StateJena Griswold denied Williams' request under the reasoning that "Let's go Brandon" is a slogan and not a nickname. Williams sued, with former Colorado Secretary of StateScott Gessler acting as his attorney.[36] Although Denver District Judge Andrew McCallin agreed with Williams that he had successfully proved that he used "Let's go Brandon" as his nickname, the judge ultimately ruled that Secretary of State Griswold acted within her authority in denying Williams the use of the nickname on the ballot.[37] Williams attempted to appeal the verdict to theColorado Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear his appeal.[38]
Soon after the chant went viral, an anti-Biden rap song called "Let's Go Brandon" was recorded by Loza Alexander.[40] The song first went viral onTikTok before rising to number one on theiTunes Store Top Hip-Hop/Rap Songs list, and number two on the platform's Top Songs list, on October 18, 2021.[41][42][43] Alexander's song reached number 38 on theBillboard Hot 100 for the week of November 6, 2021.[44]
Another song with the same title was released byBryson Gray, a conservative Christian rapper, reaching number one on iTunes.[13] It debuted at number 28 on the US Hot 100.[45] The music video for Gray's song, which included the line "Biden said the jab stop the spread, it was lies" (in reference toCOVID-19 vaccination efforts by Biden) was taken down by YouTube for containing "medical misinformation".[13] Acountry rap song of the same name was recorded byForgiato Blow.[13] On October 27, iTunes had different "Let's Go Brandon" recordings at numbers one, two,[46] four and eight.[47]
On January 25, 2022,Kid Rock released a single, "We the People", in which he attacks themedia, Dr.Anthony Fauci, masks, COVID-19 restrictions, andBig Tech, and which features the chant "Let's go Brandon" in the chorus.[48][49]
In early November, a right-wing[50]ERC20 token called "LGBcoin" (LGB) began trading,[51] and on December 30, 2021, LGBcoin announced that it would be sponsoringBrandon Brown'sBrandonbilt Motorsports for the2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.[52] Brandonbilt's spokesman toldFox Business that approval was received on December 26,[53] but on January 5, 2022,FOX Sports journalistBob Pockrass reported thatNASCAR had not approved the sponsorship.[54] In response, investor James Koutoulas threatened a lawsuit against NASCAR, and called for a boycott until the decision was reversed.[55]
In 2022, a nine-year-oldautistic boy named Brandon Brundidge saw a sign with the phrase; not knowing the political meaning, he assumed they were supporting him. It inspired him to try swimming and biking without training wheels. His mother,Sheletta Brundidge, wrote a book calledBrandon Spots His Sign, and they later met Brandon Brown.[57][58]
The phrase "Dark Brandon" was initially a meme created by onlineprogressives to parody supporters of "DarkMAGA", a prediction promoted by former U.S. representativeMadison Cawthorn[60] that former president Trump would return to power "with a vengeance".[61] It copies the "fashwave" aesthetic used initially byonline supporters of figures like Donald Trump orRon DeSantis.[62][63]
In September 2022, the phrase was used to mock Biden and compare him toAdolf Hitler, during hisBattle for the Soul of the Nation speech on Trump and his supporters.[64] During the speech, TV cameras framed Biden in front of a background illuminated by red lighting, along with two uniformed Marines on either side, withThe Guardian calling it "dark", andNew York Magazine saying the speech prompted "numerous comparisons of Biden to Hitler and Satan".[65][66]
The term was soon comically adopted by Biden's supporters and used in memes to support Biden's presidency.[67][68] The term is currently used by both his supporters and his opponents.
Several White House officials, members of the Biden team, and U.S. SenatorChris Murphy made posts referencing "Dark Brandon" on social media.[61]Biden's 2024 re-election campaign also embraced the persona,[69] making use of "Dark Brandon" imagery on their website's error message page and selling merchandise which references the meme.[70][71] According to the campaign, such products accounted for more than half of online purchase revenue on Biden's official website store.[72]
During the 2023White House Correspondents Dinner, Biden himself acknowledged the meme, donningaviator sunglasses and joking to the next speaker, "I'm going to be fine with your jokes, but I'm not sure about Dark Brandon."[73] The term is often used when Biden "goes on the offensive".[74] AnAgence France-Presse journalist wrote that the variant rebranded "him from ineffectual grandfather figure to a kind of politicalterminator".[75][76] On August 3, Biden posted a reel onInstagram where he drank coffee from a mug with "Dark Brandon" imagery. The video went viral with over 9 million views and half a million likes.[77] In February 2024, Biden used the persona in social media posts poking fun at a right-wing conspiracy theory alleging thatSuper Bowl LVIII was rigged in favor of theKansas City Chiefs to boost Biden's reelection campaign, with the help of singer-songwriterTaylor Swift and her boyfriend, Chiefstight endTravis Kelce.[78]
Reception of the meme has been mixed,[79] with some arguing that official acknowledgement by theBiden administration "killed" the meme.[80][81][82]
An automobile with the slogan written on the rear glass, parked inThe Villages, Florida
A woman wearing a shirt with the slogan
A Canadian adaptation of the slogan with the name Brandon slightly changed to end with a suffix "eau", designed to rhyme with the name ofCanadian Prime Minister,Justin Trudeau
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