A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis embraced the popular “Let’s Go Brandon” chant during a rally in Palm Beach Wednesday, noting that former President Donald Trump endured far worse than that jibe directed at President Joe Biden.
“You look at the Biden, the Brandon administration,” DeSantis said, catalyzing a “Let’s Go Brandon” chant in the hall.
“You know how that started,” DeSantis asked, seemingly rhetorically. “It was at a NASCAR race and they’re doing an interview with a driver. And his name was Brandon. And the crowd started chanting very colorful language about Joe Biden.”
The Governor was referring to an interview at Talladega after Brandon Brown won a race on Oct. 2, which was broadcast on the NBC Sports network. Some members of the crowd indeed started chanting “F**k Joe Biden.”
The Governor took no issue with the unexpurgated phrasing, turning his critical faculties to the media framing instead.
“It is what it is,” DeSantis added. “First of all, they said way worse about Trump for four years. They’re chanting this.”
“You have a reporter from NBC,” DeSantis said. “She’s trying to cover for Biden, so she says they’re chanting ‘Let’s go Brandon.’ It was a lie.”
“This chant has taken on a life of its own,” DeSantis added, “because it exposes the dishonesty of these corporate reporters.”
DeSantis made the comments at the tail end of a rally where he proposed election security enhancements, but addressed a number of other topics in a speech that seemed like a preview of the 2022 stump message from the Governor.
The “Let’s Go Brandon” chant is, of course, nothing new. DeSantis’ embrace of it comes after many other Republican elected officials, including Floridians, have found creative ways to incorporate it into discourse.
As the Associated Press noted, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida ended an Oct. 21 House floor speech with the phrase “Let’s go, Brandon!”
