Washington The phrase “Let’s go, Brandon” is currently unavoidable in the USA. Prominent Republicans wear it printed on baseball caps and masks, and ex-President Donald Trump has T-shirts sold on his website for $ 45 apiece. “Let’s go, Brandon” chants resound in sports stadiums and at demonstrations, and at a Trump rally in Iowa, the slogan fluttered over the heads of the audience on an airplane banner.
Four “Let’s go, Brandon” pop songs top the American iTunes charts, while notepads, stickers and flags are sold under the same title on Amazon. A few days ago the hype reached a new level: A Southwest Airlines pilot said goodbye to his passengers with “Let’s go, Brandon” – which forced the company to make a public apology.
The excitement about a seemingly harmless sentence stems from the fact that “Let’s go, Brandon” is actually a cipher. He stands for “F *** you, Biden” an insult to the US President.
The battle cry shows the new self-confidence of America’s right wing, which is hoping for revenge at the ballot box in the face of Biden’s government crisis in Washington. A first mood test is due this Tuesday, if the Democrats could lose the gubernatorial election in Virginia.
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It all started with an internet meme that has been eating its way through social networks for a few weeks now. A motorsport car race took place in the state of Alabama in early October.
Brandon Brown, a 28-year-old driver, had won his first major title and was interviewed by a television reporter. The crowd behind him was chanting something that was difficult to understand at first – whereupon the reporter said, “You’re shouting, Let’s go, Brandon!” In truth, the audience was insulting Biden, it quickly became clear. The scene immediately went viral – a declaration of war on the US President was born.
Only Trump was less popular than Biden
The fact that a television breakdown can get caught up in the camp of Biden opponents is also due to the US president’s meager track record. Biden has made himself vulnerable in the past few months: criticism no longer rolls off him as it did at the beginning of his tenure, when he was able to score points as a crisis manager in the pandemic. “Biden’s voters are fraying at the margins – Trump’s fans stick together,” the US magazine “Politico” summed up the situation.
Due to various crises, the US president is losing popularity.
(Photo: AP)
In fact, Biden still enjoys popularity ratings of over 90 percent among Democratic supporters. But in terms of the whole country it looks bad for him, his polls have dropped to around 43 percent approval. Only Trump was less popular at this point in office.
The reasons for this are varied: The Covid infections are not under control, the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal cast doubt on Biden’s judgment. Supply chain problems and inflation are making themselves felt in the wallets of millions of people. In addition, the struggle for trillion packages on Capitol Hill is fueling the impression that Biden’s Democrats owe their voters concrete results.
The Democrats are increasingly having a problem with the mobilization, New York policy expert Stanley Renshon told the AP news agency. Just a few months ago, anger was the leitmotif of many Republicans, for example over the accusation – repeatedly refuted – that the presidential elections had been rigged. In the meantime, the anger has turned into triumph, “and that no longer only affects die-hard Trump supporters,” said Renshon.
Obama had to come to the rescue
The Virginia elections are a good example of this, regardless of the outcome. Even a narrow victory for the Democrats would be a red flag for Biden. The Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, was last in polls behind the Republican Glenn Younkin, who is supported by Trump.
In fact, Biden still enjoys popularity ratings of over 90 percent among Democratic supporters.
(Photo: dpa)
The main problem for the Democrats seems to be mobilization: According to a survey by Christopher Newport University, 80 percent of Republicans were “very enthusiastic” beforehand, but only 65 percent of Democrats.
Actually, the important state on the east coast was considered a safe number for the Democrats, the trend is towards urbanization and a diverse population. Virginia has been in Democratic hands for over a decade.
But in the worst case for Biden, Republicans vote above average, while many Democrats stay unmotivated at home. If this happens, Virginia could be a forerunner for the important 2022 midterm elections if Republicans want to retake Congress.
The Democratic candidate was last in polls behind the Republican Glenn Younkin, who is supported by Trump.
(Photo: AP)
Concern about it seems to be at the top at least. During a campaign appearance in Virginia, the US President scolded his predecessor Trump for minutes and shouted: “Vote to prevent bad things!” Ex-President Barack Obama also came to reinforce the situation. For a state that the Democrats clearly conquered in 2020, that is a remarkable amount of effort.
Is Trump Coming Back?
The euphoria of the Republicans is fueled by ongoing rumors of a comeback of their idol Trump. The Washington Post recently reported that Trump wanted to announce his presidential campaign for 2024 in the summer. His advisors eventually stopped him, warning that moving too early could harm mobilization ahead of the congressional elections.
Instead, the strategy seems to be to keep the rumors going for a while longer. Trump’s business is anything but smooth. But he regularly tours the country for mass rallies and raised around $ 90 million in donations in the first half of 2021.
Donald Trump has T-shirts that read “Let’s go, Brandon” for $ 45 a piece on his website.
(Photo: Reuters)
He is still very popular with Republicans: According to a survey by Quinnipiac University, more than 80 percent of supporters are behind the ex-president, and around two-thirds want to see him again in the running for the presidency.
Part of Trump PR is keeping fans excited – and “Let’s go, Brandon” is part of that. Over the weekend, Trump and former first lady Melania showed up at an Atlanta football stadium. The crowd broke out in “Let’s go, Brandon” shouts, Trump smiled contentedly from the VIP box. The video of the scene has been viewed more than seven million times on YouTube.
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