Where did Lets go Brandon come from?
NEW YORK - The phrase 'Let’s go, Brandon' can be traced back to an Oct. 2 NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
Driver Brandon Brown had won his first Xfinity Series and was being interviewed by an NBC Sports reporter.
The crowd behind him was chanting something. The reporter suggested they were chanting "Let’s go, Brandon" for the driver. But it became clear they were saying: "F—- Joe Biden."
The phrase took off and has been picked up by conservatives as a code phrase to insult President Joe Biden.
Republican Rep. Bill Posey of Florida ended an Oct. 21 House floor speech with a fist pump and the phrase "Let’s go, Brandon!"
South Carolina Republican Jeff Duncan wore a "Let’s Go Brandon" face mask at the Capitol.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posed with a "Let’s Go Brandon" sign at the World Series.
Sen. Mitch McConnell’s press secretary retweeted a photo of the phrase on a construction sign in Virginia.
Biden’s motorcade recently drove past a "Let’s Go Brandon" banner in Plainfield, New Jersey.
A Southwest pilot even signed off his greeting over the public address system with "Let's Go Brandon" to audible gasps from some passengers. The airline was investigating the incident.
Donald Trump is even trying to capitalize off of the phrase. His campaign team sent out an email offering "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirts for donations of $45.
But when appearing at a recent event at his Mar-a-Lago resort he said he likes the original "F--k Joe Biden" better, according to a report in the NY Post.
America's presidents have endured meanness for centuries; Grover Cleveland faced chants of "Ma, Ma Where’s my Pa?" in the 1880s over rumors he’d fathered an illegitimate child. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were the subjects of poems that leaned into racist tropes and allegations of bigamy.
Bill Clinton was criticized with such fervor that his most vocal critics were labeled the "Clinton crazies."
"F—- Trump" graffiti still marks many an overpass in Washington, D.C.
But now, social media amplifies the insults.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.