Let's Go, Biden!
The chant of “Let’s go, Brandon,” often heard at right-wing rallies lately, always makes me laugh. Not because it’s clever or warm-hearted. No. As intended by the chanters, it is mean-spirited — but also dumb. Why? Because it will be so easy for us to...
The chant of “Let’s go, Brandon,” often heard at right-wing rallies lately, always makes me laugh. Not because it’s clever or warm-hearted. No. As intended by the chanters, it is mean-spirited — but also dumb. Why? Because it will be so easy for us to co-opt it and make it our own.
The only “power” in the chant is that it supposedly stands in for a not-safe-for-work insult to the president. When we start chanting it, it loses that power. In an instant.
That’s what President Biden figured out, in half a second, when a caller during a White House event on Christmas Eve tried to insult him.
The BBC reports:
Ha ha! Yep, we lost him!During Friday's event in the South Court Auditorium of the executive mansion, the Bidens spoke with a family from Oregon: Griffin, 11, Hunter, three, Piper, four, Penelope, two, and their father, Jared.
"I assume you're dad," the Democratic president said.
"Hi. Yes sir," replied Jared.
"OK, Dad, what do you want for Christmas?" asked Mr Biden.
"Maybe a quiet night," he replied laughing.
…
The chuckling president reminded the children to be in bed by nine o'clockotherwise Santa might not show up.
The first lady said: "Have a merry Christmas, have a wonderful Christmas."
Mr Biden told Jared: "I hope you have a wonderful Christmas."
The father replied: "Yeah, I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas as well. Merry Christmas and let's go, Brandon."
The president replied: "Let's go, Brandon. I agree."
There was silence.
Mr Biden added: "Hey, by the way, are you in Oregon? Where's your home? I think we lost him."
It just shows that all we have to do is to take up their insipid, mean-spirited chant ourselves. Do that, and it instantly transforms into something positive. All the sting is gone.
Of course, the BBC political reporter — as dense as almost every mainstream political reporter seems to be these days — was unable to recognize Joe’s sense of humor and comic timing. Astonishingly enough, the reporter somehow intuited that Biden was “apparently unaware of the gibe.”
Ha ha. As if. No, Biden is as aware as any political junkie that the caller expected him to be insulted and tongue-tied by the insult. But instead, he took it up. Turned it inside out. Made it a positive. And that’s exactly what all Democrats and allies should do whenever the right tries to insult Biden with their silly chant.
Lets’ go, Biden!