# Dark Brandon Dark Brandon is a political meme portraying President Joe Biden as a sinister, laser-eyed, all-powerful alter ego. Born on Twitter in early 2022 from the collision of the right-wing "Let's Go Brandon" slogan and the "Dark MAGA" aesthetic, the meme started as ironic leftist shitposting before Biden supporters co-opted it into an unironic celebration of presidential wins. The Biden White House and 2024 campaign eventually embraced it as official branding. ## Origin The phrase "Dark Brandon" first appeared in a tweet by Twitter user @punishedpope, who was riffing on "Let's Go Brandon"-themed movie titles based on Batman: "The Dark Brandon" and "The Dark Brandon Rises." The tweet picked up over 30 likes across four months[4]. On March 10th, 2022, Twitter user @brent858 posted a quote retweet of a Biden approval poll referencing @punishedpope's joke[4]. The opposing "Dark MAGA" hashtag, which provided the visual DNA for Dark Brandon, was coined two days later on March 12th by Twitter user @conan_esq[4]. The tweet that most likely ignited the trend came from @KingOfIronyBros (later suspended) sometime just before March 25th, 2022[4]. On March 27th, Twitter user @guyofcumland posted a photoshopped image of Biden pointing a gun inside an old woman's mouth, captioned "dark brandon," pulling in roughly 3,300 likes[4]. The visual language was already set: this was Biden as a satirical monster, the kind of reckless leftist that 2020 attack ads warned about[7]. A separate but crucial ingredient arrived via Chinese social media. On May 21st, 2021, Twitter user @ne0liberal shared a series of illustrations from Weibo artist Yang Quan depicting Biden as a glowing-eyed warlord. "Apparently this is Chinese anti-Biden propaganda, but it kinda just makes Biden seem metal af," the tweet read, earning roughly 10,700 likes over 15 months[4]. These illustrations became the definitive Dark Brandon visual template[8]. - **Platform:** Twitter (meme format), Weibo (key artwork by Yang Quan) - **Creator:** @punishedpope (first known use of phrase), @KingOfIronyBros (early viral spreader), Yang Quan (Chinese illustrator, iconic Biden artwork) - **Date:** 2022 ## Overview Dark Brandon memes take Joe Biden and reimagine him as a terrifying, godlike figure with glowing laser eyes, deep-fried aesthetics, and an aura of ruthless competence. The images borrow heavily from the "Dark MAGA" visual playbook that far-right posters created for Donald Trump: heavy reds, blacks, and grays, low-resolution textures, and an overall vibe ripped from anime villains or video game boss fights[1]. The meme flips Biden's public image on its head. Where the real Biden is known for folksy ice cream runs and calling things "malarkey," Dark Brandon is depicted committing public executions, drinking Republican tears, and pulling off impossible political victories[10]. Chinese illustrator Yang Quan's Weibo artwork, which depicted Biden as a warlord with glowing eyes in a manga-style sequence, became one of the most recognizable visual templates for the meme[4]. What makes Dark Brandon unusual is its ownership journey. It started as ironic mockery from the online left, got a brief stint as generic political shitposting, then was fully claimed by mainstream Biden supporters and eventually the Biden White House itself[6]. The "Brandon" name comes directly from the conservative "Let's Go Brandon" insult, making the whole thing a layered act of memetic reclamation[1]. ## How It Spread Dark Brandon memes ramped up through April and May 2022. On April 19th, Twitter user @cityafreaks posted a Hyperborea-style video referencing the meme that pulled roughly 11,000 views[4]. On April 22nd, it jumped to Reddit when a user posted to r/Bidenmeme, directing people to check out #DarkBrandon on Twitter. The r/DarkBRANDON subreddit launched on May 19th[4]. Through June and July, the meme's tone began shifting. On June 11th, @ne0scythian quote-tweeted a video of Patriot Front members being detained with the caption "dark brandon public executions 🔜," earning roughly 8,200 likes[4]. On July 13th, @TallBart's meme showing Biden in front of a graphic about his administration's challenges hit 8,700 likes in two days[4]. The meme exploded into the mainstream on July 31st, 2022, when news broke that Biden had authorized a drone strike killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri[2]. Biden, still isolating from COVID-19, announced the kill from the White House balcony[3]. The timing was too perfect for meme-makers to resist: photoshops flooded Twitter showing Biden with pupil-less glowing eyes like a Dragonball Z villain, or sporting a scruffy goatee and eyepatch like Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake[1]. Within days, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates shared a Dark Brandon meme on his personal account[7]. The White House director of digital strategy, Rob Flaherty, posted one too[7]. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee both jumped in with official account posts[7]. ## How to Use Dark Brandon memes typically follow a simple formula: 1. Start with an image of Joe Biden, either a real photo or the Yang Quan illustrations from Weibo 2. Add glowing laser eyes (red is standard, but yellow and blue variants exist) 3. Apply a deep-fried filter or heavy color grading in dark reds and blacks 4. Pair with text about a Biden political win, presented as if it were the work of a supervillain mastermind ## Cultural Impact Dark Brandon's crossover into official politics was remarkable. Multiple Biden administration officials posted Dark Brandon memes from their accounts, including deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and digital strategy director Rob Flaherty[7]. Senator Chris Murphy and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee used it on their official channels[7]. The Biden-Harris 2024 campaign made it formal merchandise, selling branded T-shirts and using the imagery on their official website's 404 page[6]. Biden personally referenced the persona at the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner[6] and posted Dark Brandon content to his TikTok and X accounts during the 2024 Super Bowl[9]. The meme drew attention from major publications including Slate[1], The Atlantic[10], Vox[6], Teen Vogue[7], Newsweek[3], Hyperallergic[8], and Rolling Stone. Vox framed it as a case study in the internet's ability to "reclaim and salvage what once was lost"[6]. The Atlantic questioned whether the meme was genuinely ironic or just embarrassing political fandom with extra steps[10]. The linguistic journey of the word "Brandon" itself attracted scholarly interest. It went from a NASCAR driver's first name to a coded insult against Biden, then to a leftist shorthand (popularized by the Chapo Trap House podcast), then to a quasi-official rallying cry[1]. As Slate noted: "Slang truly has no owners"[1]. ## Fun Facts - The iconic Dark Brandon artwork of Biden as a glowing-eyed warlord was originally created as anti-Biden propaganda by Chinese Weibo artist Yang Quan, intended to make Biden look threatening. American internet users thought it looked cool instead[4]. - Biden was recovering from COVID-19 when he authorized the al-Zawahiri drone strike, a detail meme-makers seized on as evidence that Dark Brandon operates at full power even while sick[3]. - The first known use of the phrase "Dark Brandon" was a joke about Batman movie titles, not a political statement[4]. - When right-wing influencer Ben Shapiro mocked the meme after it trended in summer 2022, it only fueled further adoption by Biden supporters[6]. - The Chapo Trap House podcast was one of the earliest leftist outlets to use "Brandon" as casual shorthand for Biden, before the "Dark" prefix was added[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Dark Brandon? Dark Brandon is a political meme depicting President Joe Biden as a powerful, laser-eyed alter ego. The images use deep-fried aesthetics and dark color grading to portray Biden as cunning, ruthless, and all-powerful, in sharp contrast to his real-life public persona[1]. ### Where did Dark Brandon come from? The phrase first appeared on Twitter in early 2022, coined by user @punishedpope as a Batman-themed riff on "Let's Go Brandon." It combined the conservative anti-Biden slogan with the visual aesthetics of the right-wing "Dark MAGA" trend[4]. ### What does Dark Brandon mean? Dark Brandon represents a satirical, superpowered version of Biden. It started as ironic mockery of his perceived weakness but was co-opted by supporters as a genuine celebration of his policy wins, especially after the al-Zawahiri drone strike in July 2022[3]. ### How do you use Dark Brandon? Take a photo of Biden (or the Yang Quan illustrations), add glowing laser eyes and a deep-fried filter, then pair it with text about a Biden political victory presented as if it were the act of a supervillain[4]. ### Is Dark Brandon still popular? The meme peaked during the summer of 2022 and was actively used by the Biden 2024 campaign. Biden posted Dark Brandon content as late as the February 2024 Super Bowl[9]. With Biden no longer in office, the meme's active usage has declined. ### Who created the Dark Brandon artwork? The most iconic Dark Brandon images, depicting Biden as a glowing-eyed warlord, were created by Chinese Weibo illustrator Yang Quan as anti-Biden propaganda following the 2020 election. They were shared on English-language Twitter by user @ne0liberal in May 2021[4]. ### How did "Let's Go Brandon" become Dark Brandon? "Let's Go Brandon" originated from a misheard crowd chant at a NASCAR race in October 2021[5]. The online left adopted "Brandon" as ironic shorthand for Biden, and when the "Dark MAGA" trend emerged in March 2022, someone combined the two concepts into "Dark Brandon"[1]. ### Did the White House actually use the Dark Brandon meme? Yes. Multiple Biden officials posted Dark Brandon memes in August 2022, including deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and digital strategy director Rob Flaherty[7]. Biden himself referenced the meme at the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner[6]. ### What was the al-Zawahiri connection to Dark Brandon? On July 31, 2022, Biden announced that a U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul. Biden was recovering from COVID-19 at the time. The news triggered a massive wave of Dark Brandon memes celebrating the kill[2]. ### Did Biden sell Dark Brandon merchandise? Yes. The Biden-Harris 2024 campaign sold Dark Brandon T-shirts on their official website and placed a "Dark Brandon" Easter egg on the site's 404 error page[6]. ### Was Dark Brandon controversial? Some extremely online users resented mainstream adoption of the meme, and Rolling Stone declared it dead from cringe[8]. The February 2024 Super Bowl Dark Brandon post drew criticism for being tone-deaf amid the Israeli military operation in Rafah, which killed at least 50 Palestinians the same day[9]. ### What is the connection between Dark Brandon and Dark MAGA? Dark MAGA was a right-wing trend from March 2022 depicting Trump as an unhinged, laser-eyed avenger returning for 2024. Dark Brandon borrowed the same visual language and "Dark" prefix but applied it to Biden as satire[4]. ### Who is Yang Quan? Yang Quan is a Chinese illustrator who posted manga-style artwork on Weibo depicting Biden as a glowing-eyed king or warlord. The images were intended as anti-Biden commentary but were adopted by American internet users as the definitive Dark Brandon visual template[8]. ## References 1. ["Dark Brandon" meme, explained: How Democrats took it over.]() 2. [Ayman al-Zawahiri: How Joe Biden and his team decided to kill the world’s most wanted terrorist | CNN Politics]() 3. [Dark Brandon Meme Reclaimed by Joe Biden’s Supporters After Latest Wins - Newsweek]() 4. [Dark Brandon - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Let's Go Brandon]() 6. [Dark Brandon - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [What does the “Dark Brandon” meme mean? | Vox]() 8. [Dark Brandon Meme Explained: Why the Joe Biden Meme is Everywhere | Teen Vogue]() 9. [Behold the Rise of “Dark Brandon”]() 10. [Still May the Dark Brandon Come – In The Zeitgeist]() 11. [Joe Biden's "Dark Brandon" Super Bowl meme, explained - Guidantech | Smart Gadgets, Tech Reviews & How-To Guides]() 12. [‘Dark Brandon’ Isn’t Really That Ironic - The Atlantic]() 13. [Ayman al-Zawahiri: How Joe Biden and his team decided to kill the world’s most wanted terrorist | CNN Politics]() 14. [President Says 'No One F*cks With a Biden' on Hot Mic in Florida]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dark-brandon Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library