US President Joe Biden was on Friday trolled by a caller who said “Let’s go Brandon” — a coded insult that has become a rallying cry for supporters of former US president Donald Trump — during a White House Christmas Eve event.
The incident, which quickly went viral online, took place after Biden and US first lady Jill Biden spoke by videoconference with North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) officials who track Santa Claus’ travel across the globe.
After being assured of Santa’s progress, Biden fielded calls from US families.
Photo: AP
One man identified himself as Jared, a father of four. Biden spoke briefly with the caller’s children, asking what presents they wanted for Christmas and telling them they needed to be in bed before midnight.
Biden also remarked on how he and Jared both had sons named Hunter.
Wrapping up the call, Biden wished Jared a “wonderful Christmas.”
“I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas as well, merry Christmas, and let’s go Brandon,” Jared replied.
“Let’s go Brandon, I agree,” returned Biden, without reacting to the dig.
It was not immediately clear if the president had understood the reference, although Jill Biden chuckled uncomfortably and rolled her eyes.
Biden asked Jared where he was calling from, but by then the call had been disconnected.
A clip of the moment spread widely on social media, with some praising the president for his calm response.
“Let’s go Brandon” is a euphemism for a vulgar insult that originated when a reporter at a NASCAR race misheard a chant insulting Biden while interviewing driver Brandon Brown in September.
Since then, it has been taken up as a political slogan by Trump supporters.
Biden’s predecessor had his own headline-grabbing Christmas Eve moment when he in 2018 raised doubts about Santa’s existence in a call with a seven-year-old boy.
“Are you still a believer in Santa Claus? ’Cuz at seven it’s marginal, right?” he said.
The Santa tracker presented by NORAD dates to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement misprinted a telephone number to connect children with Santa and mistakenly directed them to the military nerve center hotline.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
RSS