NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. (KTVI) – There are now four stores in New England full of merchandise featuring the popular phrase “Let’s go, Brandon.”
Keith Lambert, who owns the stores, said he is a fan of former President Donald Trump, opened three of the stores in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. He also started the New England For Trump (NEFT) website, which also features some of his merchandise, including hats, shirts, stickers, signs and more.
He said there has been an overwhelming demand for “Let’s go, Brandon” merchandise, so he decided to open stores focusing primarily on those items. He said he opened two stores just for the “Let’s go, Brandon” items and rebranded one of the NEFT stores. He even has a “Freedom Trailer” that can move around with merchandise.
“Let’s go, Brandon” has become the latest tagline tacked on to commentary by folks on the conservative end of the political spectrum. It also often appears as a caption underneath photos of the skyrocketing costs of fuel around the country.
The “Brandon” being referenced is NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, but the phrase isn’t intended to be a sign of support for the racer. It’s a coded way for Republicans and opponents of President Joe Biden to voice their displeasure.
The meme was born after Brown finished first at a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama earlier this month. As Brown was being interviewed by sportscaster Kelli Stavas, the race crowd took the opportunity to make a political statement on national television with a loud series of chants.
“F— Joe Biden! F— Joe Biden!” was the very clearly audible cheer from the stands.
Stavast, however, heard otherwise and remarked on the noise to Brown during the interview.
“As you can hear the chants from the crowd — ‘Let’s go, Brandon,’” she mistakenly remarked.
The errored translation has since taken off as a synonym of the crowd’s actual sentiments and has even been embraced by some Republican politicians.