‘Just Like We Drew It Up’: What’s behind Joe Biden’s Super Bowl post?

It is an image that could belong to a film that is part horror, part sci-fi: US President Joe Biden standing against a murky background, bright-red laser beams emanating from his eyes, his United States flag brooch shining prominently against his lapel.

Yet, it was no meme page or troll account posting that image: It was posted on Biden’s own X page early on Monday. Coming against the backdrop of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza that has killed more than 28,000 people and that the US has backed, the image prompted particular criticism of Biden by some social media users.

What was the post about?

Biden’s post came after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Singer Taylor Swift – arguably the biggest name in the world of entertainment who has previously criticised former US President Donald Trump, Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 election – is dating Travis Kelce, who plays for the Chiefs. While Swift’s appearance at National Football League (NFL) games this season has helped the sport’s brand, it has also sparked conspiracy theories from sections of the far-right, which have suggested that the NFL was conspiring to set up a win for the Chiefs to create a backdrop for Swift to endorse Biden’s candidature.

Though the Chiefs won, Swift is yet to declare support for any presidential candidate. That did not stop Biden from mocking the conspiracy theory with his tweet, suggesting that he had plotted the moment.

Several users questioned whether Biden’s account was hacked. Others joked about an intern posting the image while others remarked how they thought a parody account posted the picture at first glance.

Many suggested that Biden’s post was distasteful and insensitive as it came amid Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

Given the war in Gaza, the post was not “appropriate”, said Ahmed Al-Rawi, an associate professor of news, social media and public communication at Simon Fraser University in Canada.

“But I don’t think Biden is thinking of the global audience here,” he said. “He is mostly thinking about his US audience.”

What is the Dark Brandon meme?

The alt text, or image description on Biden’s post, simply says, “dark brandon”. This is a reference to a meme that dates back to October 2021.

A crowd was chanting obscenities about Joe Biden during a race at the Talladega Superspeedway race track in Alabama. While interviewing race winner Brandon Brown, NBC’s sport reporter Kelli Stavast interpreted the chants to be, “Let’s Go Brandon”, and reported them as such on live television.

Since then, the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” became code for verbal abuse at Biden, lending Republican politicians new language to use against Biden online, circumventing censorship and avoiding criticism. The phrase also started showing up as song lyrics.

Has Biden made similar posts in the past?

Regardless of origin, the meme that was intended to mock and criticise Biden has repeatedly been co-opted by Democrats and Biden himself. His tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of the Brandon phrase began as early as 2021 and has continued.

In April 2023, Biden put on dark sunshades after making a joke about becoming the “Dark Brandon” persona during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC.