The 4PM

State Rep. Gloria Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat, said Monday that chanting the anti-Biden rallying cry, “Let’s go Brandon,” is akin to burning the American flag.

THE QUOTE

“As a friend said, I think it should be equated with burning the flag, in essence, that’s what they are doing,” Johnson tweeted in response to a Twitter user who likened saying “Let’s go Brandon” to “chanting ‘overrated!’ at a team even after they kicked your ass.”

As a friend said, I think it should be equated with burning the flag, in essence, that’s what they are doing. https://t.co/0WrJzFSkwv

— Rep. Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) November 15, 2021

In a subsequent tweet, Johnson clarified that her position was a personal opinion, “not a legal take.”

• Both burning the flag and saying “Let’s go Brandon” are “protected speech,” Johnson acknowledged.

IT’S SWEEPING THE NATION

“Let’s go Brandon” has become an inside joke on the right inspired by a NASCAR broadcast in October.

NBC Sports’ Kelli Stavast was on the track interviewing driver Brandon Brown at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama when the crowd erupted in a “F*ck Joe Biden” cheer.

• “As you can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go Brandon,’” Stavast said, incorrectly.
• Since then, conservatives’ defiant celebration of the meme has prompted numerous media meltdowns from journalists who find the phrase problematic.