The last four days have been a whirlwind for an Oregon dad who used a kids’ Christmas Eve call with Joe and Jill Biden to essentially tell the president to go f*** himself, thereby launching himself into the entirely predictable role of right-wing celebrity hero.
Jared Schmeck ended the call meant for children by saying “Let’s go, Brandon,” the code phrase embraced by the petulant right as a stand-in for “F*** Joe Biden.” For his part, Biden responded, “Let’s go, Brandon, I agree,” either because he doesn’t know what the phrase means or because it’s not worth it to make it a thing.
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) December 25, 2021
And it’s not worth it. “Let’s go, Brandon” is childish but I don’t think it actually gets under anyone’s skin the way the people who love it think it does. At the same time, saying it directly to Biden, especially during a Christmas call with children, is just a weirdly rude thing to do.
Biden had just wished the father & kids a Merry Christmas for what it’s worth & spent time asking the kids what they wanted for Christmas
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) December 24, 2021
If you think it’s appropriate to tell someone — anyone, really — to go f*** themselves after they gave your kids the time of day on Christmas Eve, it says a lot more about your personal character than anything else
That is all.— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) December 24, 2021
I think the let’s go Brandon stuff is harmless and funny, but if you tell someone to go fuck themselves when they are being nice to your kid, you’re just a dick. Merry Christmas!
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) December 24, 2021
A lot of people online expressed their feelings about Schmeck’s stunt and so of course, Schmeck took to complaining about cancel culture and censorship. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he was “being attacked for utilizing my freedom of speech,” because apparently telling someone to go f*** themselves is protected speech but pointing out how rude that is is not.
“Only my speech is free,” says Oregon man https://t.co/Gps8V1Xdg3
— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) December 26, 2021
Schmeck also told the outlet he meant “no disrespect” to Biden and that his comments were just “a joke,” even suggesting he didn’t fully understand the meaning of the phrase.
“I understand there is a vulgar meaning to ‘Let’s go Brandon,’ but I’m not that simple minded, no matter how I feel about him,” he told the outlet the next day. “He seems likes he’s a cordial guy. There’s no animosity or anything like that. It was merely just an innocent jest to also express my God-given right to express my frustrations in a joking manner … I love him just like I love any other brother or sister.”
There you have it! An “innocent jest” from someone who “loves” Biden and didn’t realize the phrase was a “vulgar” insult. Schmeck was just trying to be funny and made a mistake. He also insisted he wasn’t a “Trumper.”
That narrative lasted about 36 hours. Then Schmeck went on Steve Bannon’s far-right, conspiracy-laced podcast to talk about how much he loves Trump, how the election was “stolen,” and how “proud” he is of his call with Biden.
Jared Schmeck, displacing Kyle Rittenhouse with top billing on the MAGA talk-show circuit, says his prank call with Biden was his chance to “express my displeasure,” then says “Trump is my president” and “the election was 100% stolen.” Guess it wasn’t just a “joke”after all. pic.twitter.com/biZ6r0pAyH
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 27, 2021
Schmeck told Bannon that during the call with Biden, he felt he had “a chance right now to voice my disapproval of this man and his administration.”
When asked what sort of disapproval he feels, “Schmeck cited ‘the leftist mob, the cancel culture, the mainstream media.’ He did not elaborate,” writes Oregon Live.
(image: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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