A new meme has been casting a looming shadow over the internet in recent months. Dark Brandon combines a Terminator aesthetic with the internet’s love of ironic, self-deprecating humor, and these depictions of President Biden have been shared far and wide since around the middle of 2022. Dark Brandon images have even been posted by Democratic politicians and members of Biden’s press team, giving what was once a joke a bit of unexpected gravitas. But who is Dark Brandon, and how exactly did this meme come about?
“Let’s go Brandon”
To understand who Dark Brandon is, you first need to know how Joe Biden came to be known as Brandon – a tale that involves a NASCAR race, a crowd chant, and millions of people with a very low bar for what constitutes humor. In Sept. 2021, NBC sports reporter Kelli Stavas was interviewing winner of the Sparks 300 race Brandon Brown when the mostly right-leaning crowd began chanting “Fuck Joe Biden.” Stavas, either because she misheard the chant or because she’s a pro who knows kids were likely watching the live broadcast, described the chant as “Let’s go Brandon.” in reference to the winning driver. Within weeks, the phrase “Let’s go Brandon” was being chanted by anti-Biden folk in sports games and concerts, and was even used in Congress.
So, in certain circles Biden became known as Brandon. But how did this nickname morph into the memes we’re currently seeing flood social media?
Dark Brandon’s #DarkMAGA origins
Unsurprisingly given the internet ecosystem we inhabit, the Dark Brandon meme is indebted to fans of Biden’s political opponent Donald Trump. Driven by online communities like /r/the_donald, since 2015 hardline conservatives on the internet have produced a dizzying array of artwork that varies from highly stylized pictures that show Trump as a muscular Rambo-like figure, to uncomfortably fawning pieces that belong on DeviantArt. Trump himself has even got in on the act with the recent release of his Trump Superhero NFT trading cards.
In January 2022, the hashtag #DarkMAGA began popping up on sites like Twitter, Telegram, and TikTok, alongside images of Trump in striking red and black or red and blue color schemes, usually with lazers pointing out of his eyes a la Arnie in The Terminator. While the meme may seem hammy and, frankly, a bit childish, it has some worrying undertones.
The gist of the movement is that Trump should come back in 2024 with vengeance as his main platform. In the minds of those who are seriously into the aesthetic, Trump was too forgiving during his first term and needs to return with the ruthlessness of a dictator, leaving his enemies quaking in his wake. In a turn of events that will shock nobody, the memes often include neo-Nazi and confederate imagery while amplifying accelerationist ideas, and have even been shared by republican politicians like Madison Cawthorn (since voted out of office).
Despite these violent undertones (and, in many cases, overtones), there were many people who simply couldn’t take the #DarkMAGA aesthetic seriously. And, of course, everything on the internet is ripe for satire and mockery, even violent far right fantasies. Which is how we ended up with…
The birth of Dark Brandon
Online perceptions of Joe Biden have shifted massively since he first came to prominence as Barack Obama’s veep. Throughout the Obama administration, Biden was often depicted as a loveable, goofy character who was just happy to be along for the ride. The Onion was particularly well known for their lighthearted digs at the vice president, and all of this contributed to the public image of Biden as a friendly, laidback guy you could have a beer with. As the handover between the Obama and Trump administrations was in progress, Biden’s portrayal shifted to that of a loyal sidekick to the former president, willing to do the dirty work of getting Trump back for his various insults on the campaign trail.
However, when Biden returned to the forefront of American politics in 2020 he presented a sensible, smart image that often slipped into dullness. His seeming inability to take proactive stances in the carnage of the final months of the Trump administration meant a lack of enthusiasm about him from those who might have been making pro-Democrat memes, leaving a gaping hole for conservative internet users to flood social media with “Creepy Uncle Joe” and “Senile Biden” memes.
During his first few months of being president, Biden was often depicted online as someone with an impressive ability to do nothing yet still disappoint everyone. His unifying language was ignored by Republicans hellbent on keeping their base fired up, and deplored by Democrats who wanted him to show more strength on several issues, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, the Afghanistan crisis, and pushing his more progressive policies through.
Yet, in recent months, we’ve seen a more combative Joe Biden, punchier White House responses to Republican hypocrisy and disinformation, and the passing of several sweeping pieces of legislation. His image has also been improved by his strong response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This new, outspoken Biden gave plenty of non-conservative meme makers the idea to parody the odd, worshiper-like relationship some Republicans have with Trump, and with #DarkMAGA they had the perfect vehicle.
Part of the humor of Dark Brandon is that Biden, despite his newfound fighting spirit, remains a fairly middling politician, known more for deal-making than blistering tirades or dramatic interventions. And while the meme has been fairly popular online for months in recent weeks it’s been showing up everywhere, which begs the question: why has Dark Brandon suddenly become popular again?
Why has Dark Brandon’s popularity surged?
Like with all complex social systems, there are countless potential reasons as to why Dark Brandon memes have profligated on the internet recently, but the most obvious one is Biden’s performance in the State of the Union address. Aside from his strong words and presidential tone, he managed to get in a few digs at some of the more obstructionist members of the Republican party, delighting viewers and causing a new slew of Dark Brandon memes to flood timelines everywhere.
The longterm effects of the memeification of politics are yet to be fully understood, but even if you’re wary of important discourse turning into a childish online argument, it is interesting to see some vigor injected into the Democratic side of the debate after years of the Republicans positioning themselves as willing to fight dirty for their beliefs. Whether Dark Brandon will be a recurring theme for the next two years or was simply just a flash in the pan is yet to be determined, but we can be sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Joe Biden with lazer eyes in the coming weeks.