By Wynne Davis and Scott SimonOct 30, 2021 (Weekend Edition Saturday / NPR)
A supporter of former President Donald Trump displays a "Let's Go, Brandon" hat before a campaign event for Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Virginia, in Arlington, Va., last Tuesday. Image: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Here's what 'Let's Go, Brandon' actually means and how it made its way to Congress
If you've heard people chanting, "Let's go, Brandon!" or seen someone with a shirt or hat sporting the seemingly jovial message lately, you might be wondering who Brandon is and why so many people are rooting for him.
In this case, the phrase isn't actually about supporting a guy named Brandon. Instead, it's a euphemism that many people in conservative circles are using in place of saying, "F*** Joe Biden."
The origins of the meme go back to Oct. 2, when race car driver Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race and was being interviewed by NBC reporter Kelli Stavast. In the background, some in the crowd can be heard chanting, "F*** Joe Biden," though Stavast says, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!' " in her broadcast.
It remains unclear if Stavast misheard what the crowd was saying or if she purposely tried to change the message.
Who's using the chant and meme?
Either way, the phrase "Let's go, Brandon!" quickly spread among conservative groups and continues to be used in place of the direct expletive toward President Biden, even among members of Congress.
On Thursday, Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., was seen sporting a "Let's go, Brandon" mask. Duncan shared a photo of himself in the mask on Facebook, saying, "The American people are furious." Duncan continued his message and expressed frustration with the Biden administration's immigration policies, vaccine mandates and the state of inflation in the United States.
The week prior, another Republican, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida, ended a speech on the House floor, in which he talked about frustrations with the Biden administration's agenda and legislation, with a "Let's go, Brandon!" and a quick fist pump.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, no stranger to memes, also added to this discourse when he posted a photo from Game 2 of the World Series in which he stands with another Houston Astros fan whose sign reads "LET'S GO BRANDON" in big bold letters.
It has spread outside of Congress too. People are using the phrase as inspiration for multiple songs. A Southwest Airlines pilot used the phrase to sign off from a flight on Friday. The airline says it's conducting an internal investigation of the incident.
How this meme got so big
Independent researcher Hampton Stall, who studies ideology and group cultures, says the phrase itself is "shareable and adaptable" and can be used in public in "way[s] that cursing out the president cannot."
Speaking with NPR's Weekend Edition, Stall says that in addition to the phrase's ability to be shared easily, "Let's go, Brandon!" also got a large boost by alternative right-wing media and figures.
And while it's possible that social media platforms and search engines might ban the more explicit phrase, Stall says the meme version isn't a phrase that can be banned.
"It's not a search term that they were going to limit," Stall says. "And I think that's probably fair. There's a difference between calls for violence and this sort of wink that the 'Let's Go, Brandon' meme is."
How this meme compares with others directed at presidents
"Let's go, Brandon" isn't the first president-related meme to take off, nor is it the first time a president has dealt with vulgar messages.
President Barack Obama was in office as social media's influence began to take hold, enabling the quick spread of racist images and insults online.
The phrase "F*** Trump" was seen often on signs and apparel when Donald Trump was president. And just as that phrase was capitalized on, Stall says he's seeing the same thing now.
"There's a lot of money to be made for people who are seizing the moment and selling," Stall says.
As for whether people will remember this meme in the future, Stall says it has likely reached the point where most people will know what others are saying when they say, "Let's go, Brandon," just like many still remember Trump's "covfefe" typo turned meme.
"I think it's sort of past the point where enough people in the mainstream political audience in the United States have heard it that it will be remembered in the future," he says. "It just maybe won't have the same level of staying power [as covfefe]."
Audio transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Who is Brandon, and why is the phrase Let's Go, Brandon being heard on the floor of Congress?
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Well, it seems the Let's Go, Brandon momentum isn't dying down soon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Republican member of Congress wearing a mask that says Let's Go, Brandon.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #3: Electronic road signs that are posted near construction zones - well, some Northern Virginia residents woke up to a couple of them that didn't have messages about traffic. Instead, they showed a slogan that's become popular with critics of President Biden.
BILL POSEY: And they're not going to sit back and take it much longer. Instead, the bogus Build Back Better plan and reconciliation plan - you know what they want? They want you to help put America back where you found it and leave it the hell alone. Let's go, Brandon. I yield back.
SIMON: Independent researcher Hampton Stall has looked into what's become this catchphrase. And he joins us from Atlanta. Mr. Stall, thanks so much for being with us.
HAMPTON STALL: It's good to be here. Thank you.
SIMON: There is Brandon Brown, a champion NASCAR driver - won this month at Talladega. We've got a clip with NBC reporter Kelli Stavast, but we can't play it, right? Why is that?
STALL: That's because the crowd as the NBC reporter is trying to interview Brandon Brown after his win is chanting expletives towards the current U.S. president.
SIMON: And the NBC reporter just thought that what they heard was, let's go, Brandon?
STALL: It's unclear exactly, like, without being inside of her head, if this was a genuine mishearing or if she was just trying to do damage control. It was a live broadcast. And there are sensitivities around airing the F-word.
SIMON: Yeah. So how did it - how did this take flight? How did it become the catchphrase that it is?
STALL: Well, there's a few different ways that I've sort of tried to theoretically explore the Let's Go, Brandon meme becoming as large as it is today. One of them is that the phrase is a very shareable and adaptable phrase that can be sort of said publicly in the way that cursing out the president cannot. But another way that it spread really quickly was the phrase, the meme was boosted by all kinds of alternative right-wing media, by right-wing figures, including the son of the former U.S. president, Donald Trump, on places like Fox News, on Breitbart. The phrase Let's Go, Brandon was boosted all over the country.
SIMON: The original chant for which Let's Go, Brandon is - has become a euphemism - let me put it that way - is crude, but not violent. But search engines and moderators would be capable of catching it. That's not true with Let's Go, Brandon, right? And maybe it shouldn't be, if you believe in free speech.
STALL: Yeah. I mean, Facebook released that Let's Go, Brandon as a phrase is not a bannable term. It's not a search term that they were going to limit. And I think that's probably fair. There's a difference between calls for violence and this sort of wink that the Let's Go, Brandon meme is.
SIMON: Is there any evidence that this phrase, which is perfectly innocuous, is being used for more malevolent purposes?
STALL: I think we're maybe just at the start of attempts for that. But the real thing that I see happening with the meme right now is that multiple political campaigns are, like, selling it on merch, that there's a lot of money to be made for people who are seizing the moment and selling. The attempts for further-right groups to hijack the conversation right now have been mostly unsuccessful, with the exception being militia groups, which were already doing this kind of stuff anyway.
SIMON: But well, let me - I mean, you've been talking about conservatives. What about Karen? What about use of the word Karen?
STALL: Oh. I mean, Karen, I think, is more of a, like, demographic stab. And that's used across the political spectrum.
SIMON: I - do you really think conservatives use Karen to describe a white woman bigot?
STALL: No. OK, so it's different than that. Anti-vax activists refer to pro-vax suburbanite women as Karen.
SIMON: I didn't know that.
STALL: On the left, it's usually used for the, like, call-your-manager-type conservative suburbanite as well. So there's, like, demographic target overlap. But as far as the use, it's politically very different.
SIMON: OK. Four weeks from now, will we know what anybody says - anybody means when they say, Let's Go, Brandon?
STALL: I think so. I mean, I think a close analogue would be when Trump tweeted covfefe (ph), or however you pronounce it.
SIMON: Well, you know, covfefe - and I don't know...
STALL: Yeah.
SIMON: ...If there is a correct pronunciation since it's not a word. But yeah.
STALL: And that word was printed all over different liberal brands. It was included in campaigning emails in the same way that currently, like, Let's Go, Brandon as a phrase is being repeated in the conservative sphere, in the MAGA world. I think it's sort of past the point where enough people in the mainstream, like, political audience in the United States have heard it that it will be remembered in the future. It just maybe won't have the same level of staying power.
SIMON: Hampton Stall researches ideology and group cultures. He's the founder of MilitiaWatch. Thank you so much for being with us.
STALL: Thanks so much for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF BRIAN BLADE SONG, "AFTER THE REVIVAL")
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