Let's Go Brandon

2021Catchphrase / political slogandeclining

Also known as: LGB · #LetsGoBrandon

Let's Go Brandon is a 2021 political catchphrase that originated when an NBC Sports reporter misinterpreted anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview.

"Let's Go Brandon" is a political catchphrase that took off in October 2021 as a coded way to say "Fuck Joe Biden." It started when an NBC Sports reporter appeared to misinterpret anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview5. The phrase spread rapidly through conservative social media, spawned multiple chart-topping rap songs, and was adopted by Republican politicians from congressmen to governors3.

sports anthem memescollege football memesphysical memesprotest anthem memesbiden memes

TL;DR

"Let's Go Brandon" is a political catchphrase that took off in October 2021 as a coded way to say "Fuck Joe Biden." It started when an NBC Sports reporter appeared to misinterpret anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview.

Overview

"Let's Go Brandon" functions as a family-friendly substitute for "Fuck Joe Biden," doubling as both a political protest phrase and a jab at mainstream media. The phrase works on two levels: it expresses disapproval of Biden while mocking what many saw as a reporter's attempt to spin or sanitize crowd sentiment on live television4. The slogan appeared on t-shirts, hats, flags, banners, face masks, and even airport loudspeaker pages4. It crossed from internet joke to real-world political shorthand within days of its creation.

The backstory starts in early September 2021, when crowds at college football games across the Southern United States began chanting "Fuck Joe Biden" during games1. The trend first showed up at Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, and Virginia Tech, then spread to other schools including Ole Miss and Auburn over the following weekends1. TikToker @oldrowswig compiled footage of the chants at games, concerts, and bars on September 5th, racking up over 232,000 views4. The chants were linked to frustration over the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and vaccine mandates1.

The anti-Biden chanting wasn't limited to college stadiums. Staind frontman Aaron Lewis led a "Fuck Joe Biden" chant at a reunion concert in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, while wearing an "I Could Shit a Better President" shirt2. Donald Trump hosted a pay-per-view boxing event on September 11th where the crowd chanted both "We want Trump" and "Fuck Joe Biden"4.

On October 2, 2021, Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama5. During a post-race interview on the NBC Sports broadcast, reporter Kelli Stavast acknowledged the crowd noise by saying, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'" The crowd was clearly chanting "Fuck Joe Biden"4. Whether Stavast genuinely misheard the chant or deliberately reframed it on live TV has never been clarified. An Associated Press reporter noted the chant was "at first difficult to make out"5. A clip of the moment hit Twitter the same day, posted by @TrumpJew2, and pulled in over 3.8 million views, 28,000 likes, and 10,000 retweets within four days4.

Origin & Background

Platform
NBC Sports broadcast (origin moment), Twitter / TikTok (viral spread)
Key People
Kelli Stavast
Date
2021
Year
2021

The backstory starts in early September 2021, when crowds at college football games across the Southern United States began chanting "Fuck Joe Biden" during games. The trend first showed up at Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, and Virginia Tech, then spread to other schools including Ole Miss and Auburn over the following weekends. TikToker @oldrowswig compiled footage of the chants at games, concerts, and bars on September 5th, racking up over 232,000 views. The chants were linked to frustration over the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and vaccine mandates.

The anti-Biden chanting wasn't limited to college stadiums. Staind frontman Aaron Lewis led a "Fuck Joe Biden" chant at a reunion concert in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, while wearing an "I Could Shit a Better President" shirt. Donald Trump hosted a pay-per-view boxing event on September 11th where the crowd chanted both "We want Trump" and "Fuck Joe Biden".

On October 2, 2021, Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. During a post-race interview on the NBC Sports broadcast, reporter Kelli Stavast acknowledged the crowd noise by saying, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'" The crowd was clearly chanting "Fuck Joe Biden". Whether Stavast genuinely misheard the chant or deliberately reframed it on live TV has never been clarified. An Associated Press reporter noted the chant was "at first difficult to make out". A clip of the moment hit Twitter the same day, posted by @TrumpJew2, and pulled in over 3.8 million views, 28,000 likes, and 10,000 retweets within four days.

How It Spread

The phrase moved fast. By October 3rd, Donald Trump Jr. posted photos of people holding a "Fuck Joe Biden" flag with the caption "Great to see real America representing loud and proud. 'Let's go, Brandon!'" collecting over 51,000 likes. Brown himself tweeted "Let's go Brandon" on October 4th, adding "not political… just feelin myself," which got 15,300 likes.

Over the next few days, the phrase blanketed conservative Twitter. Users swapped it in for "Fuck Joe Biden" with the hashtag #LetsGoBrandon. One user photoshopped it onto AOC's "Tax the Rich" Met Gala dress. Someone paged a passenger named "Let's Go Brandon" over the loudspeaker at Chicago O'Hare airport. Fox News interviewees started dropping it on live television.

Republican politicians picked it up quickly. Congressman Bill Posey ended House floor remarks with "Let's go, Brandon" on October 21st. Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted the hashtag the next day, blaming Biden's "disastrous policies" for the phrase's popularity. Senator Ted Cruz called it "one of the funniest things he's ever seen," saying it "captures everything about fake news all at once". Congressman Jeff Duncan wore a face mask with the phrase printed on it. Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire started selling "Let's Go Brandon" t-shirts on October 5th.

The meme's most unexpected turn came through music. By the week of October 28th, four songs titled "Let's Go Brandon" occupied slots in the iTunes U.S. top 10. Bryson Gray's version (featuring Tyson James and Chandler Crump) held the number one spot, while rapper Loza Alexander claimed spots two, five, and six with his original, extended, and remix versions. The five top positions on the iTunes hip-hop chart were all "Let's Go Brandon" tracks, knocking Adele's "Easy on Me" to third place overall. Alexander's music video, posted October 10th, pulled over 4.4 million views in a month. Gray claimed YouTube banned his track for "medical misinformation," likely over anti-vaccine lyrics, and said TikTok also removed it without explanation.

How to Use This Meme

The phrase typically works as a direct substitution for "Fuck Joe Biden" in any context. Common uses include:

1

As a standalone exclamation — Drop "Let's go Brandon" at the end of a complaint about gas prices, inflation, or government policy

2

As a crowd chant — Used at sporting events, rallies, and public gatherings in the same cadence as the original anti-Biden chant

3

On merchandise — Printed on shirts, hats, flags, bumper stickers, and face masks

4

In social media posts — Added as a caption, hashtag (#LetsGoBrandon), or sign-off to political commentary

5

As a comedic interjection — Worked into unrelated conversations or live broadcasts for shock value, like the airport paging incident

Cultural Impact

The phrase jumped from internet joke to full-blown political slogan faster than most memes manage. Linguist John McWhorter analyzed it in The Atlantic, comparing the use of "Brandon" to a hlonipha, a linguistic substitution for a forbidden word, similar to how "SNAFU" sanitizes its profane origin. He called the Let's Go Brandon phenomenon "simply fascinating" and "a wild, woolly kink in the intersection of language, politics, wit, and creativity".

Not everyone found it charming. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board wrote that the chant "reveals a moral bankruptcy of those who chant it even in church". Marc Thiessen, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, initially disliked it but concluded it was "a perfectly harmless and humorous way for Americans to express their frustration at a flailing, and failing, presidency".

NASCAR president Steve Phelps publicly rejected any association with the slogan on November 5, 2021, saying the organization didn't want to be tied to politics on either side. The man at the center of it all, Brandon Brown, had complicated feelings. The phrase overshadowed his Talladega win and scared off corporate sponsors wary of political controversy. His Brandonbilt Motorsports team struggled to find sponsorship as companies didn't want the association. Brown, a Republican, said he had "zero desire to be involved in politics" and wished the phrase could be used positively. He eventually wrote a Newsweek op-ed stating he wouldn't endorse anyone but also wouldn't stay silent on issues that mattered to him.

Donald Trump Jr. used the meme's momentum to argue media bias, telling The Daily Caller that "the media can't run cover for him anymore" and citing Afghanistan, border issues, and inflation as reasons behind public frustration with Biden.

Fun Facts

The original "Fuck Joe Biden" chant trend was partially popularized through TikTok compilations before the NASCAR incident gave it a PG-rated rebrand

Four "Let's Go Brandon" songs hit the iTunes top 10 in the same week, something no single meme phrase had achieved before in chart history

Brandon Brown's initial reaction was lighthearted. He tweeted "To all the other Brandons out there, You're welcome! Let's go us" before realizing the political baggage it carried

Bryson Gray claimed both YouTube and TikTok banned his version of the song, though the stated reason was "medical misinformation" rather than political content

The phrase was used on the House floor, printed on a congressman's face mask, flown on a banner behind a plane, and displayed on a billboard, all within weeks of its creation

Derivatives & Variations

"Let's Go Brandon" songs

— Multiple rap tracks by Bryson Gray, Loza Alexander, Godz Child, and Topher hit iTunes charts in October 2021, with the top five hip-hop spots all occupied by Brandon-themed tracks[3]

#LetsGoBrandonChallenge

— A social media challenge where people posted videos of themselves using the phrase in public or unexpected settings[3]

AOC dress photoshop

— A widely shared edit replacing "Tax the Rich" on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala dress with "Let's Go Brandon"[4]

Trump campaign memes

— Dilbert creator Scott Adams suggested "Let's Go, Brandon!" as Trump's 2024 campaign slogan[4]. Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme of Trump on a flip phone wearing a pink "Let's Go Brandon" hat[4]

Frequently Asked Questions

Let's Go Brandon

2021Catchphrase / political slogandeclining

Also known as: LGB · #LetsGoBrandon

Let's Go Brandon is a 2021 political catchphrase that originated when an NBC Sports reporter misinterpreted anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview.

"Let's Go Brandon" is a political catchphrase that took off in October 2021 as a coded way to say "Fuck Joe Biden." It started when an NBC Sports reporter appeared to misinterpret anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview. The phrase spread rapidly through conservative social media, spawned multiple chart-topping rap songs, and was adopted by Republican politicians from congressmen to governors.

sports anthem memes college football memes physical memes protest anthem memes biden memes

TL;DR

"Let's Go Brandon" is a political catchphrase that took off in October 2021 as a coded way to say "Fuck Joe Biden." It started when an NBC Sports reporter appeared to misinterpret anti-Biden crowd chants as cheers for NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during a live post-race interview.

Overview

"Let's Go Brandon" functions as a family-friendly substitute for "Fuck Joe Biden," doubling as both a political protest phrase and a jab at mainstream media. The phrase works on two levels: it expresses disapproval of Biden while mocking what many saw as a reporter's attempt to spin or sanitize crowd sentiment on live television. The slogan appeared on t-shirts, hats, flags, banners, face masks, and even airport loudspeaker pages. It crossed from internet joke to real-world political shorthand within days of its creation.

The backstory starts in early September 2021, when crowds at college football games across the Southern United States began chanting "Fuck Joe Biden" during games. The trend first showed up at Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, and Virginia Tech, then spread to other schools including Ole Miss and Auburn over the following weekends. TikToker @oldrowswig compiled footage of the chants at games, concerts, and bars on September 5th, racking up over 232,000 views. The chants were linked to frustration over the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and vaccine mandates.

The anti-Biden chanting wasn't limited to college stadiums. Staind frontman Aaron Lewis led a "Fuck Joe Biden" chant at a reunion concert in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, while wearing an "I Could Shit a Better President" shirt. Donald Trump hosted a pay-per-view boxing event on September 11th where the crowd chanted both "We want Trump" and "Fuck Joe Biden".

On October 2, 2021, Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. During a post-race interview on the NBC Sports broadcast, reporter Kelli Stavast acknowledged the crowd noise by saying, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'" The crowd was clearly chanting "Fuck Joe Biden". Whether Stavast genuinely misheard the chant or deliberately reframed it on live TV has never been clarified. An Associated Press reporter noted the chant was "at first difficult to make out". A clip of the moment hit Twitter the same day, posted by @TrumpJew2, and pulled in over 3.8 million views, 28,000 likes, and 10,000 retweets within four days.

Origin & Background

Platform
NBC Sports broadcast (origin moment), Twitter / TikTok (viral spread)
Key People
Kelli Stavast
Date
2021
Year
2021

The backstory starts in early September 2021, when crowds at college football games across the Southern United States began chanting "Fuck Joe Biden" during games. The trend first showed up at Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, and Virginia Tech, then spread to other schools including Ole Miss and Auburn over the following weekends. TikToker @oldrowswig compiled footage of the chants at games, concerts, and bars on September 5th, racking up over 232,000 views. The chants were linked to frustration over the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and vaccine mandates.

The anti-Biden chanting wasn't limited to college stadiums. Staind frontman Aaron Lewis led a "Fuck Joe Biden" chant at a reunion concert in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, while wearing an "I Could Shit a Better President" shirt. Donald Trump hosted a pay-per-view boxing event on September 11th where the crowd chanted both "We want Trump" and "Fuck Joe Biden".

On October 2, 2021, Brandon Brown won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. During a post-race interview on the NBC Sports broadcast, reporter Kelli Stavast acknowledged the crowd noise by saying, "You can hear the chants from the crowd, 'Let's go, Brandon!'" The crowd was clearly chanting "Fuck Joe Biden". Whether Stavast genuinely misheard the chant or deliberately reframed it on live TV has never been clarified. An Associated Press reporter noted the chant was "at first difficult to make out". A clip of the moment hit Twitter the same day, posted by @TrumpJew2, and pulled in over 3.8 million views, 28,000 likes, and 10,000 retweets within four days.

How It Spread

The phrase moved fast. By October 3rd, Donald Trump Jr. posted photos of people holding a "Fuck Joe Biden" flag with the caption "Great to see real America representing loud and proud. 'Let's go, Brandon!'" collecting over 51,000 likes. Brown himself tweeted "Let's go Brandon" on October 4th, adding "not political… just feelin myself," which got 15,300 likes.

Over the next few days, the phrase blanketed conservative Twitter. Users swapped it in for "Fuck Joe Biden" with the hashtag #LetsGoBrandon. One user photoshopped it onto AOC's "Tax the Rich" Met Gala dress. Someone paged a passenger named "Let's Go Brandon" over the loudspeaker at Chicago O'Hare airport. Fox News interviewees started dropping it on live television.

Republican politicians picked it up quickly. Congressman Bill Posey ended House floor remarks with "Let's go, Brandon" on October 21st. Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted the hashtag the next day, blaming Biden's "disastrous policies" for the phrase's popularity. Senator Ted Cruz called it "one of the funniest things he's ever seen," saying it "captures everything about fake news all at once". Congressman Jeff Duncan wore a face mask with the phrase printed on it. Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire started selling "Let's Go Brandon" t-shirts on October 5th.

The meme's most unexpected turn came through music. By the week of October 28th, four songs titled "Let's Go Brandon" occupied slots in the iTunes U.S. top 10. Bryson Gray's version (featuring Tyson James and Chandler Crump) held the number one spot, while rapper Loza Alexander claimed spots two, five, and six with his original, extended, and remix versions. The five top positions on the iTunes hip-hop chart were all "Let's Go Brandon" tracks, knocking Adele's "Easy on Me" to third place overall. Alexander's music video, posted October 10th, pulled over 4.4 million views in a month. Gray claimed YouTube banned his track for "medical misinformation," likely over anti-vaccine lyrics, and said TikTok also removed it without explanation.

How to Use This Meme

The phrase typically works as a direct substitution for "Fuck Joe Biden" in any context. Common uses include:

1

As a standalone exclamation — Drop "Let's go Brandon" at the end of a complaint about gas prices, inflation, or government policy

2

As a crowd chant — Used at sporting events, rallies, and public gatherings in the same cadence as the original anti-Biden chant

3

On merchandise — Printed on shirts, hats, flags, bumper stickers, and face masks

4

In social media posts — Added as a caption, hashtag (#LetsGoBrandon), or sign-off to political commentary

5

As a comedic interjection — Worked into unrelated conversations or live broadcasts for shock value, like the airport paging incident

Cultural Impact

The phrase jumped from internet joke to full-blown political slogan faster than most memes manage. Linguist John McWhorter analyzed it in The Atlantic, comparing the use of "Brandon" to a hlonipha, a linguistic substitution for a forbidden word, similar to how "SNAFU" sanitizes its profane origin. He called the Let's Go Brandon phenomenon "simply fascinating" and "a wild, woolly kink in the intersection of language, politics, wit, and creativity".

Not everyone found it charming. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board wrote that the chant "reveals a moral bankruptcy of those who chant it even in church". Marc Thiessen, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, initially disliked it but concluded it was "a perfectly harmless and humorous way for Americans to express their frustration at a flailing, and failing, presidency".

NASCAR president Steve Phelps publicly rejected any association with the slogan on November 5, 2021, saying the organization didn't want to be tied to politics on either side. The man at the center of it all, Brandon Brown, had complicated feelings. The phrase overshadowed his Talladega win and scared off corporate sponsors wary of political controversy. His Brandonbilt Motorsports team struggled to find sponsorship as companies didn't want the association. Brown, a Republican, said he had "zero desire to be involved in politics" and wished the phrase could be used positively. He eventually wrote a Newsweek op-ed stating he wouldn't endorse anyone but also wouldn't stay silent on issues that mattered to him.

Donald Trump Jr. used the meme's momentum to argue media bias, telling The Daily Caller that "the media can't run cover for him anymore" and citing Afghanistan, border issues, and inflation as reasons behind public frustration with Biden.

Fun Facts

The original "Fuck Joe Biden" chant trend was partially popularized through TikTok compilations before the NASCAR incident gave it a PG-rated rebrand

Four "Let's Go Brandon" songs hit the iTunes top 10 in the same week, something no single meme phrase had achieved before in chart history

Brandon Brown's initial reaction was lighthearted. He tweeted "To all the other Brandons out there, You're welcome! Let's go us" before realizing the political baggage it carried

Bryson Gray claimed both YouTube and TikTok banned his version of the song, though the stated reason was "medical misinformation" rather than political content

The phrase was used on the House floor, printed on a congressman's face mask, flown on a banner behind a plane, and displayed on a billboard, all within weeks of its creation

Derivatives & Variations

"Let's Go Brandon" songs

— Multiple rap tracks by Bryson Gray, Loza Alexander, Godz Child, and Topher hit iTunes charts in October 2021, with the top five hip-hop spots all occupied by Brandon-themed tracks[3]

#LetsGoBrandonChallenge

— A social media challenge where people posted videos of themselves using the phrase in public or unexpected settings[3]

AOC dress photoshop

— A widely shared edit replacing "Tax the Rich" on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala dress with "Let's Go Brandon"[4]

Trump campaign memes

— Dilbert creator Scott Adams suggested "Let's Go, Brandon!" as Trump's 2024 campaign slogan[4]. Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme of Trump on a flip phone wearing a pink "Let's Go Brandon" hat[4]

Frequently Asked Questions