“Let’s go Brandon” started at a NASCAR race held in Alabama on Oct. 2.
Brandon Brown, a 28-year-old driver who races for a team owned and operated by his family, won his first NASCAR event. While getting interviewed after the race, a crowd formed in the stands behind him and started chanting “Fuck Joe Biden.”
Mishearing the crowd — or, if you believe the conservative conspiratorial origins, intentionally trying to cover up the message — NBC reporter Kelli Stavast said during the interview, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’”
Conservatives seem to just think it’s a hoot.
For some, the memeification of the phrase is a middle finger to the media, as they believe a reporter mishearing a chant amounts to censorship.
For others, saying one phrase that means another thing is the peak of comedy. Ted Cruz said it was “one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.”
Naturally, scores of Too Online conservatives and right-wingers.
South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan wore a mask with the phrase on it. Another congressman, Bill Posey of Florida, ended a speech on the House floor with the exclamation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to the Biden administration as the “Brandon administration.” A Southwest Airlines pilot even said “Let’s go Brandon” while signing off from a flight, prompting the airline to launch an investigation.
The phrase has become the inspiration for several songs, including one that made its way into the top of the iTunes paid song charts.