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NBC News labels ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ phrase a ‘right-wing anti-Biden slur’

December 27, 2021 | | Print Article

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The story of an Oregon dad, Jared Schmeck, wishing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden a “Merry Christmas” on a live call before throwing in “Let’s Go Brandon” was all the rage over the holiday weekend.

Schmeck, who later insisted that his remark was a “joke,” and that he meant “no disrespect,” made the comment after his family spoke with the president and first lady during NORAD’s annual Santa Tracker event, but that didn’t stop NBC News from reporting that Biden “was subjected to a right-wing anti-Biden slur during a Christmas Eve call.”

“Biden and the first lady were speaking with families around the country who had called into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to receive an update on Santa’s location when one parent ended the conversation by saying: ‘Let’s go Brandon,’” NBC News reported. “The president did not appear to recognize that the phrase is used by the right wing as a euphemism for ‘F*** Joe Biden,’ and responded: ‘Let’s go Brandon, I agree.’”

The slogan took the nation by storm after NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast interviewed NASCAR driver Brandon Brown after winning a race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama on Oct. 2. The crowd in the background was chanting “F*** Joe Biden,” but Stavast mistakenly stated, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s Go Brandon!'”

“Since then, the euphemism ‘Let’s go Brandon’ has been repeated by a number of prominent figures on the right and Republican members of Congress have even shouted it from the House floor. When the president travels, he is often met by protesters holding ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ signs,” NBC News grumbled.

The network highlighted a tweet from Jill Biden’s spokesperson Michael LaRosa in the article, again calling the phrase a “slur” in noting his reaction:

What the article did not take note of is that Schmeck has become the victim of an all-out campaign to destroy him, with Democratic politicians like U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., leading the online charge to cancel the father of four.

Social media users doxxed Schmeck and identified his employer, before embarking on a campaign of intimidation against the company to get Scheck fired.

Schmeck told The Oregonian that he’s not a right-wing “Trumper” but rather just a “free-thinking American and follower of Jesus Christ.”

“At the end of the day, I have nothing against Mr. Biden, but I am frustrated because I think he can be doing a better job. I mean no disrespect to him,” he said. “And now I am being attacked for utilizing my freedom of speech. I understand there is a vulgar meaning to ‘Lets go Brandon,’ but I’m not that simple minded, no matter how I feel about him.”

It comes as little surprise that the media has grown tired of the popular phrase, which has become embedded in the cultural landscape. For many liberal journalists, Biden is their guy, the man they fully embraced in the quest to ensure that former President Donald Trump was defeated in 2020 — tagging it as a slur is the first step in rendering the phrase verboten in social circles.

Meanwhile, those on the right remain skeptical…

Tom Tillison
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