- The Washington Times - Monday, May 2, 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis is doing more than just chanting “let’s go, Brandon.”

The Florida governor more than once referred to President Biden as “Brandon” on a podcast released Monday.

On the latest episode of “The Truth with Lisa Boothe,” Mr. DeSantis used the incorrect moniker, based on a popular conservative taunt against Mr. Biden when discussing “a lot of problems in the country.”

“I think you look at some of these big institutions, we see with corporate America, big tech censorship, we see our bureaucracy totally out of control. Obviously, Brandon in the White House is a total disaster,” he said.

The coded insult of Mr. Biden began when NBC interviewed NASCAR driver Brandon Brown after he won his first race, at the Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 2.

Thousands of fans in the Alabama stadium were spontaneously chanting “f— Joe Biden” and the NBC reporter falsely told the TV feed that they were chanting “Let’s go, Brandon!”

The meme was born and has found its way onto bumper stickers, T-shirts, and now the usage of the Florida governor.

Ms. Boothe, the podcast host, said at the end of the program that “I feel like we should end it with a ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’” And Mr. DeSantis took the opportunity to double down on calling the president “Brandon.”

“The media doesn’t like that when you say ‘Brandon,’ but what I tell them is, as long as he’s treating my state the way he is, stiffing seniors of relief from disasters, not doing anything to lower gas prices … he’s Brandon to me,” Mr. DeSantis said.

Mr. Biden himself even said “let’s go, Brandon” once, repeating in apparent ignorance someone else’s saying it to him, though first lady Jill Biden at his side reacted as if she knew the phrase’s origins.

• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.

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