What matters is not the meme but the bare face

What voters need to verify are not Dark Brandon or Dark MAGA but the bare faces of Biden and Trump.

PARK HYUNG-SOOThe author is an international news reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo. On August 4, U.S. President Joe Biden posted a 9-second video on X, formerly Twitter. After taking a sip of coffee from a mug, he says, “I like my coffee dark.” The mug features the number 2024 and a portrait of Biden with red laser beams from his eyes.

The character’s name is Dark Brandon. He is a secondary character, or a sub-character with a muscular body and outgoing character, in contrast to Biden’s neat and somewhat weak image. The image of Dark Brandon — with a copper-toned face, eyes with red beams and a toothy grin — is strong and aggressive.

Dark Brandon was created by Biden’s opponents to make fun of him. At a car racing event held in the South in 2021, a reporter was interviewing the winner Brandon Brown, and the spectators chanted in unison, ridiculing Biden. After the reporter said that the crowds were cheering, “Let’s go, Brandon,” the sentence itself became a slang term for cursing Biden. Combined with the Dark MAGA, or Make America Great Again, a slogan created by Republican supporters to cheer for former President Donald Trump, the Dark Brandon meme was completed. American media Vox reported that unlike what Trump supporters had hoped, “Brandon” can no longer make fun of Biden. Instead, it plays a role of making elderly Biden more appealing to the young and people of color as the “dark hero” and “superhero.”

Biden supporters are happy with the popularity of the Dark Brandon meme overtaking Dark MAGA. The Pennsylvania State University’s professor Jessica Myrick said, “It’s almost like reveling in the pain that MAGA supporters must be feeling at Biden being so successful.”

The outcome of a recent poll on the Biden versus Trump contest was tight, 43 to 43. In the neck-and-neck race, I feel bitter that the candidates focus on the meme rivalry rather than policies.

Yale University professor Timothy Snyder, the author of “The Road to Unfreedom,” advises to break away from social media, read newspapers and fiercely collect facts during the campaign season. What voters need to verify are not Dark Brandon or Dark MAGA but the bare faces of Biden and Trump.