President Joseph R. Biden was goaded into saying “Let’s go, Brandon” during the White House’s annual Christmas Eve NORAD Santa-tracking event.
Mr. Biden and first lady Jill Biden took calls from the public as part of the event, which uses radar technology to track Old Saint Nick’s journey around the globe. The public interaction quickly went off script when Jared, a father from Oregon, called in to the program to wish the Bidens a Merry Christmas.
“I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas,” the father said when signing off the call. “Merry Christmas and ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’”
The slogan, which serves as slang for “F—- Joe Biden,” was quickly repeated by the president.
“Let’s go Brandon, I agree,” said Mr. Biden, without missing a beat.
It is unclear if Mr. Biden knew the meaning of the slogan before repeating it. The first lady seemed to recognize the nature of the comment, chuckling and rolling her eyes as it was said.
The president attempted to continue the conversation with Jared, asking what part of Oregon his family was from, but the call was discontinued shortly after the phrase was uttered.
“I think we lost him,” said Mr. Biden.
“Let’s go, Brandon” has exploded as crafty invective against Mr. Biden among Republicans and supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The cheeky phrase first entered the zeitgeist in October during an NBC interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown after he won the Sparks 300 series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Sound difficulties dominated the interview as hundreds of attendees shouted, “F—- Joe Biden” from the stands.
The NBC reporter conducting the interview told Mr. Brown and the TV audience that the attendees were chanting “Let’s go, Brandon.”
Republicans say the episode and the chant it spurred perfectly sum up long-ranging critics of the mainstream media from conservative circles.
“The clip is surreal,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. “Listening to the NBC reporter say, ‘Look, they’re chanting let’s go Brandon.’ It captures everything about fake news all at once.”
