“Dark Brandon,” President Joe Biden‘s satirical alter-ego, is making a bold appearance on the day of the first 2024 Republican debate — not only on billboards in Milwaukee, where eight GOP candidates are set to take the stage on Wednesday evening, but in digital ads plastering the homepage of FoxNews.com.
From midnight on Wednesday until 11:59 p.m., the internet meme-turned-campaign tool is taking over Fox News’ website with pro-choice ads touting Biden’s mission to defend abortion rights, one year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
For Biden’s 2024 reelection team, the unexpected ad campaign — not only reclaiming an antagonistic character, but doing so on a conservative news site — was a no-brainer.
Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager for Biden’s 2024 campaign and former director of digital strategy in Biden’s White House, tells PEOPLE that Fox News’ website is prime real estate for a campaign ad since the network is hosting Wednesday’s debate. And, perhaps more importantly, “it’s a surprising place for the president to show up.”
“I think it fits both the president’s ethos of going everywhere and not writing off any voters,” Flaherty says. “It also speaks to the sort of strided, swaggy Dark Brandon personality of, ‘Yeah, we’re going to go on Fox News and talk about protecting and restoring Roe.'”
The new Dark Brandon campaign doesn’t only touch on abortion rights, though that’s the one that was selected to appear on Fox News. Three other versions of the ad will pop up on billboards in Milwaukee Wednesday, each hitting on an issue that Americans overwhelmingly support, but the Republican Party opposes.
One ad reads, “Get on board, folks. We’re lowering prescription drug costs.” Another reads, “Social Security cuts? Try me.” And the final reads, “Tax cuts for yacht owners? Good luck with that, champ.”
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For those who missed it, the GOP went apeshit over this Dark Brandon twitter post. And I mean apeshit. It was beautiful. Dark Brandon lives rent-free in their addled minds.
A cup of Joe never tasted better.
Grab yours: https://t.co/4fbxCBQNPZ pic.twitter.com/s2qboyE7C1
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 3, 2023
You can get your Dark Brandon on the official campaign page, here. Personally, I’m loving the Harris/Emhoff sticker
Open thread