Dark Brandon

2022 - 8 - 8

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Brandon returns, darkly: Democrats turn an insult into a pro-Biden ... (The Washington Post)

It's not President Biden as many have come to know him. He's not the aviator-wearing average Joe with familiar family folkisms, the grandpa who plays with ...

Bates had tweeted a meme that placed Biden — with facial hair and an eye patch — on the movie poster for “The Dark Knight.” “I’m a Democrat — and if we are being honest — the past year since the withdrawal from Afghanistan has been pretty disheartening for Democrats,” he wrote. The phrase “Let’s go, Brandon” has waxed and waned in popularity among right-wing online influencers since it started in October 2021, according to a Washington Post analysis of political text content on both sides of the political spectrum. It was just an eagle, and nothing more.” Some noted that he was sick with the coronavirus while doing so. “He’s having a really good year, and I’m kind of happy for him.” Rob Flaherty, the White House’s director of digital strategy, also tweeted an image of Biden smiling with red eyes, his hair haloed against a dark background. He has created several recent Dark Brandon memes. “Republicans seem to support one fella, some guy named Brandon,” he said. Biden himself did not seem aware of the coded phrase. The imagery, which has roots among anti-Biden users on social media, has quickly gone from some of the far corners of the internet into more mainstream use by administration officials, liberal commentators and U.S. senators. It’s not President Biden as many have come to know him.

White House tries again to rebrand Biden, this time as 'dark Brandon' (Fox News)

The White House has tried to rebrand President Biden as "dark Brandon" in reference to a viral online meme that presents an edgy version of the president ...

In addition, Rob Flaherty, the White House director of digital strategy, tweeted an image of Biden with laser eyes. The meme also seeks to co-opt the "let's go Brandon" meme that originated among conservatives online and has become popular for those that oppose the Biden administration's agenda. "For decades, the gun lobby and the oil companies and the drug industry controlled Washington. And ordinary people suffered," Murphy tweeted. "Let’s see if a tweet from an official Biden White House account gets the same treatment." The image appeared to depict Biden as Batman. "Have y’all seen this, though?"

Dark Brandon Begins: How WH aides appropriated the meme of ... (Politico)

“Being a Joe Biden supporter hasn't been very fun over the past year, and Dark Brandon is fun!” said one Democratic digital strategist close to the White House.

LEO CRUZ is now deputy White House liaison at DOD. He most recently was special assistant to the under secretary of Navy. A SERIOUS AMOUNT OF PERSONNEL NEWS: OSAREMEN OKOLO is leaving the White House where she has been a policy adviser for the Office on Covid-19 Response, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He offered great advice for the students, like: “Lean on friends and family, develop your passion, engage in your surroundings, find and make meaning in your time here. ADDITIONAL UKRAINE AID: The White House announced another $1 billion in aid for Ukraine Monday, as the Russian invasion drags onto its seventh month. White House Chief of Staff RON KLAIN retweeted a CNBC clip detailing the news, reiterating: “It's [sic] biggest drop ever.” The swivel chair was created. The phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” a euphemism for “F— Joe Biden,” became the soundboard for countless gifs and graphics. He played 15 rounds of golf, conducted 17 formal press conferences and gave 20 sit-down interviews, according to former CBS News White House correspondent MARK KNOLLER, who tracks presidential data.” During the Obama years he was portrayed as the bumbling “Uncle Joe,” always blurting out something off key and obsessing over his aviators and Corvette. As president, he’s been castigated as elderly and frail and in over his head. We apologize for the error. But it took the leap into normie-discourse this past weekend as the massive reconciliation package was poised to pass the Senate; Sinister Biden suddenly became the all-powerful president. Yang has posted many other images in the 20 months since — often with pro-China, nationalistic messages.

The “Dark Brandon” Joe Biden Meme Has Made Its Way Into the ... (Vanity Fair)

The administration is seizing on some positive headlines lately, co-opting a MAGA-inspired online meme to celebrate Sunday's major legislative win, ...

Twitter content But the meme's reach has since expanded. Last week breathed life into the Biden administration.

'Dark Brandon' or How the Left Stopped Worrying and Learned to ... (Daily Beast)

The White House is riding high on a number of recent wins. And staffers are feeling emboldened to strike back at constant online attacks using a new meme.

Notably, after his defeat in a primary election, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) vowed a “dark MAGA” takeover of the GOP. But the trope dates back long before that, with appearances in anime, cryptocurrency communities, and a 2014 meme about an ebola-infected doctor saying he was “growing stronger.” In October 2021, Trump fans at a NASCAR race started chanting “Fuck Joe Biden” in the background of an NBC Sports Network broadcast. In its original form, Dark Brandon had multiple targets, including Biden’s perceived fecklessness, earnest conservative memes that compared Trump to Rocky Balboa or Rambo, as well as some Trump supporters’ QAnon-style predictions that Trump, despite all evidence to the contrary, would soon wreak havoc on his enemies. Dark Brandon imagery mines a number of rich sources for memes, including anime and video games. “The humor is that Biden is nothing like this image of him,” said the staffer. They know that,” said Melani McAlister, an American Studies professor at George Washington University. “Joe Biden is a very mild-mannered person, but they are arguing that he can be effective and tough even while being a very different kind of personality than Trump.” “Seeing Biden win means that conservatives and the right-wing people who so despise him are clearly suffering… Now, Dark Brandon is the first time since the Obama years that people are having fun with Biden’s public image, the operative argued. “It was all about beating Trump, not loving Biden,” the operative said. To many Democrats, the sight of Biden’s team leaning into memes as part of messaging is doubly rich. While the actual Biden struggled to keep gas prices down and respond to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v.

The Sudden Surge Of 'Dark Brandon' Memes, Explained (Forbes)

In the meme wars, President Joe Biden has proved an elusive target for right-wingers and Trump cultists; Biden's limp centrism just doesn't fuel the ...

Chad memes). Some might be laughing at the fact that “Dark Brandon” is being used sincerely, but this is the natural evolution of the meme cycle, as irony morphs into sincerity, and vice-versa. That is, until liberal Biden-supporters began to take them seriously.