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Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried referred to President Joe Biden as "Brandon" in a tweet thanking him for his response to Hurricane Ian, using a nickname originally deployed by Biden's critics, but has been embraced by his supporters in recent months.
"From all of us in Florida, thank you Brandon," Fried, a Democrat, tweeted Saturday.
Biden's nickname stems from a NASCAR race last year, when driver Brandon Brown won the race and sportscaster Kelli Stavast, while interviewing Brown, thought the crowd was cheering "Let's go Brandon!" In actuality, the crowd was cheering "F*** Joe Biden."
"Let's go Brandon" then became a meme and phrase used by conservatives to criticize the president. But recently, it has been coopted by Democrats.
From all of us in Florida, thank you Brandon.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) October 8, 2022
In recent months, supporters of the president have used "Dark Brandon" memes as a way to praise the president's achievements, after it was originally used to mock former President Donald Trump.
"Dark Brandon or #DarkBrandon refers to a series of memes depicting a darker, edgier Joe Biden. The memes appropriate DarkMAGA imagery originally used by rightwing posters to depict Donald Trump as well as the Let's Go Brandon catchphrase used by conservatives to mock Biden and the media," according to knowyourmeme.com.
"As the meme trend evolved through August 2022, however, it increasingly expressed an unironic appreciation of Joe Biden and the accomplishments of his administration," the website continues.
The Dark Brandon meme trended on Twitter after a clip of Biden caught on a hot mic saying "no one f***s with a Biden," surfaced online. The president made the remark this week while speaking to Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy, a Democrat. Biden was in the city to survey damage left behind by Hurricane Ian alongside Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
In addition to receiving praise from Democrats for his response in regards to the hurricane, Biden was also applauded by DeSantis.
"We all need to work together regardless of party lines. The Biden administration has approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration and did that very quickly. So we're thankful for that," the governor said in an interview on Fox News on September 27, referring to how the president approved an emergency declaration before the storm hit.
Biden also praised DeSantis for his "remarkable" response to the storm, and said he thought the Republican leader has "done a good job." Biden said that while he and DeSantis "have very different political philosophies," they've been "in complete lockstep" when it comes to addressing the crisis posed by Hurricane Ian.
Newsweek has reached out to Fried and the White House for comment.
About the writer
Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more