The joyous demise of 'Let's Go Brandon,' once a celebrated MAGA meme
When MAGA Republicans first stumbled into the meme "Let's Go Brandon!"—a euphemism for "Fuck Joe Biden!"—it was electric.
The meme’s origin stems from a misunderstanding. During an October 2021 NASCAR race, an on-air NBC News reporter suggested the crowd was chanting "Let's go, Brandon" for Brandon Brown, who had just won the day’s race. It quickly became clear that was not the case.
Suddenly, the MAGA movement had a G-rated code for relaying how they really felt. “Let's Go Brandon” showed up on bumper stickers, at campaign rallies, even in chants at some events featuring President Biden. Republican Rep. Bill Posey of Florida used it to punctuate a speech he delivered on the House floor—an easy way to score political points.