We’re calling fake news on this one. According to NBC, people shouting “Let’s go, Brandon!” are simply cheering on driver Brandon Brown, who recently earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. But now that same network is reporting that the chant is “a right-wing slogan widely understood as code for profanity directed at President Biden.” That might explain the explosion of #FJB hashtags we’ve been seeing on Twitter recently, along with a rap called “Let’s Go Brandon” topping the iTunes charts.
The phrase was coined by an NBC reporter on Oct. 2, but by Oct. 30, National Public Radio had deduced that maybe people weren’t actually cheering on a guy named Brandon.
No one is really cheering on a guy named Brandon. Instead, the phrase is being used in conservative circles in place of a more vulgar message directed at President Biden. https://t.co/lDxJQ8YYZE
— NPR (@NPR) October 31, 2021
Let’s hear what NPR has to say:
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.”
NPR notes that the phrase has even been uttered by members of Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz.
https://twitter.com/YankReb69/status/1455277322152685572
Yes. We know… pic.twitter.com/6KM4etkCq5
— Matt Vespa (@mVespa1) October 31, 2021
Hope you guys get through this.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 31, 2021
Will you be okay? Talking to someone will help you.
— Tina England (@TE1998) October 31, 2021
— Derick (@thurealbigD) October 31, 2021
— THE GABE (@ousooner4) October 31, 2021
I hope you all survive this turbulent time. Amazing it took you this long to figure it out. pic.twitter.com/Puu1j3OVwH
— Pache (@pcal051) October 31, 2021
The best part about this tweet is that it was published a full four weeks after Brandon Brown won at Talladega.
— Kelvin Chew (@_kelvinchew) October 31, 2021
— Tom Schneeberg (@TomSchneeberg) October 31, 2021
All this and more in this week's issue of "Duh" Magazine! pic.twitter.com/P0EQ3A5BzH
— MattBlackwell (@MattBlackwell) October 31, 2021
I’m just here to see how bad the ratio gets. pic.twitter.com/r70bCcWNjk
— Hannibal is on the jazz (@LeCodeNinja) October 31, 2021
Nonsense. We LOVE Brandon and want Brandon to succeed.
— Manlihood.com (@Manlihooddotcom) November 1, 2021
Journalism is hard. pic.twitter.com/bdFXPoLVjn
— James (@the_jame) October 31, 2021
They cracked it. Everybody run.
— Brian Smith (@BVTech) October 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/rivet_banger/status/1455180969867046914
https://twitter.com/winsmith39/status/1455016020318511105
Nobody show them what the number 1 and 3 most downloaded songs on iTunes are. Give them a few months to figure it out.
— Ed Howard (@ochocobull) November 1, 2021
“Conservative circles” like the World Series
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 31, 2021
Conservative circles like Yankees stadium. Oh wait, they used the more vulgar version.
— Todd Lilly (@toddlilly) November 1, 2021
I’m not sure which is funnier, calling college football student sections “conservative circles” or thinking you have to make an official tweet to announce people aren’t really cheering on a guy named Brandon
— Beck (@BeckWeek) October 31, 2021
I actually have a friend named Brandon that I regularly cheer for. Super disapointing that these conservatives have taken that from me and my friend Brandon
— Ben (@BenJammin215) October 31, 2021
— Chris Pierson (@cjp1007) October 31, 2021
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) October 31, 2021
Pulitzer Prize journalism on this one
— Aliscia Andrews (@alisciaandrews) November 1, 2021
Are you explaining this to Joe Biden?
— Abnormal Accrual (@bbm010) November 1, 2021
Surely any complaints against Let's Go Brandon need to be directed to NBC. NBC created Let's Go Brandon in a NASCAR broadcast as a lie to hide what was being said by fans. If fans switched to the family friendly phrase and it grew, that falls ENTIRELY on NBC.
— Benjamin Elliott (@bfelliott) October 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/dpdodson/status/1454983700526125061
Thoughts and prayers to all at NPR and their listeners who have been hurt by this.
— Matt (@MMK00008) November 1, 2021
Imagine there are people reeling from the shock of just learning this.
Related:
TRIGGERED: NBC News notes that gun dealers are using ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ as a marketing slogan now https://t.co/YVi3kxXnQT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 1, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member