"Let's Go, Brandon!"

"F*ck Trump" was the kind of thing one could say with impunity over Trump's Presidency. Robert De Niro, emphasizing his age and distance from the culture, uttered those very words when announcing an award at the 2018 Tony's to a standing ovation. Kathy Griffin's ritual act of "resistance"—wherein she held up a fake, bloody Trump head—was met with predictable outrage from the Right and universal praise from the Left. The rumor that Trump defecated himself on the golf course received similar treatment. All this and much more has re-emerged during the Biden Presidency, but it's very serious this time and you better not laugh.

More taboo, but also more benign, the "Let's go, Brandon" chant has swept through the nation in the past few weeks. The chant references a post-race interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown during which the crowd could be heard chanting "F*ck, Joe Biden." The interviewer, Kelli Stavast, in an attempt to blunt the impact of the obscenities, misheard (deliberately or not) the chant as "Let's go, Brandon", and thus was born this forbidden meme which is shorthand for "F*ck, Joe Biden."

This time is probably different because the crowd that Biden courts is markedly different from the one Trump courted. Trump, a populist if there ever was one, courted the people. Biden, a bureaucrat if there ever was one, courted the other bureaucrats and their lackeys (Hollywood actors and the rest). Biden's ally, Robert De Niro, is no longer the spritely, virile star that helmed films like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and The Godfather, but a dried up, impotent has-been clinging to any semblance of relevance amongst his aloof friends in Hollywood. From this tight circle comes the "F*ck Trump" sentiment.

On the other hand, the "Let's go, Brandon" sentiment emerged from the people. Originally circulating as a meme online, clips have circulated of stadiums chanting the mantra in unison with glee while the only instance of mass chanting against Trump happened, unsurprisingly, in Washington D.C. during the 2019 World Series. Trump made—and continues to make—a habit of frequenting sporting events while Biden has steered clear because, well, he's not a man of the people. He's a corpse.

The drama surrounding the meme erupted over the weekend when an AP reporter allegedly heard a Southwest pilot make the joke over the PA before taking off. The reporter, Colleen Long, had a conniption and claimed that such language made her feel "unsafe".  The implication here is that the nearly 75 million people who voted for Trump in the last election and express discontent with Joe Biden as President are not right in the head. Southwest will conduct a very serious investigation into the incident to determine if the pilot's phrase carried the violent, extremist undertones implied by the hysterical journalist. It seems unlikely. In fact, some speculate that the man was actually saying "Go Braves!" which might also be offensive to you depending on how early in life you got a vasectomy.