Biden Attempts Campaign Humor With ‘Dark Brandon’ Video Hours Before Trump Court Appearance

In a stab at humor that some of President Trump’s supporters say is mocking the former president, President Biden released a video promoting “Dark Brandon” campaign merchandise on the day of Mr. Trump’s arraignment.The 10-second video was released by the Biden campaign Thursday morning and featured the president sipping from a coffee mug that his campaign sells on its online store. “I like my coffee dark,” Mr. Biden says in the video while drinking from a “Dark Brandon” mug.The “Dark Brandon” meme is a reappropriation of the “let’s go Brandon” line that’s used by Mr. Trump’s supporters as a euphemism for “f— Joe Biden.”“Let’s go Brandon” originated from a video showing a crowd at an Alabama Nascar event, apparently initially chanting for the winner of the Sparks 300 race, Brandon Brown, began chanting, “F— Joe Biden.”Since then, merchandisers have seized upon the opportunity to sell “Let’s go Brandon” clothing items and flags to voters who do not support Mr. Biden.Supporters of Mr. Biden reappropriated the meme last year, adopting some of the aesthetics associated with the so-called dark MAGA and ultra MAGA online communities that often portray Mr. Trump with glowing red eyes. MAGA refers to Mr. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.The “Dark Brandon” meme itself portrays Mr. Biden with glowing-red laser eyes and as a politically savvy Machiavellian figure who is able to work quietly behind the scenes to deliver on Democratic priorities.Last August, the “Dark Brandon” branding had a moment when a staffer for Mr. Biden, Andrew Bates, tweeted “Dark Brandon is crushing it,” after the announcement of a deal to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. Thursday’s video sparked immediate backlash from some of Mr. Trump’s biggest boosters on social media, with conservative influencers like Rogan O’Handley calling the video “unreal.” “Just 2 days after indicting Trump for J6, Biden puts out a ‘Dark Brandon’ video saying ‘I like my coffee dark,’” Mr. O’Handley said in a tweet. “This illegitimate POS is basically taking a victory lap for imprisoning his top political opponent. Infuriating.” The “Dark Brandon” branding appears to have struck a chord, though, at least with people interested in purchasing merchandise from Mr. Biden’s campaign.Axios reports that the “Dark Brandon” merchandise is responsible for 54 percent of the campaign’s total merchandise sales, with the “Dark T-Shirt” and “Dark Roast Mug” being the best-selling items in the campaign store.“All we’re saying is that if you’re MAGA extremists, Vladimir Putin, the post-Covid economic collapse, climate change, a crumbling bridge, or our grassroots fundraising goals: You better watch out, Jack,” a campaign spokesman, TJ Ducklo, told Axios on the topic.

Biden Attempts Campaign Humor With ‘Dark Brandon’ Video Hours Before Trump Court Appearance

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