CNN was upset at the news that Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wore a mask in the Capitol building that read "Let's Go Brandon," which has become a meme and euphemism to say "F*** Joe Biden."
Olivia Beavers, a Congress reporter for Politico, tweeted out the image on Monday.
Spotted at House votes: GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan of SC wearing a mask with a phrase that Republicans are using in place of F*** Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/0rTSz6LwNV
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 26, 2021
Tuesday morning, CNN's Brianna Keilar, John Berman, and Maggie Haberman bemoaned the mask as a disrespect to the norms of Congress.
"I think it's a natural evolution from where we've been going over most of this past year, which has been basically whatever comedy the Biden folks hoped was going to be there in Congress, you know, hoping that the fever, quote, unquote, as they put it, was going to break after Trump was not going to break. Trump has these die-hard supporters, and there are people who, frankly, are not in Congress at this point to legislate, they're in Congress to troll and they're in Congress to get attention and to basically attack and not to do something that involves working with other lawmakers," Haberman said, adding the House floor "once upon a time was supposed to be something more of a respected space, a space that was treated differently. As we saw on January 6, there are plenty of people who don't see it that way."
"And this is a single entendre, by the way. You explained it very well, what 'Let' go Brandon' means, but it's just a mask that says 'F Joe Biden.' That's what it's doing. And that's from a U.S. congressman on the House floor," Berman said.
"It's a huge breach of a norm that — I don't know how to describe this as a norm because this is just something I never would have even imagined somebody was going to be doing, was wearing a mask with that message. But again, the goal is all about agitating. The goal is all about getting people upset. That's the point," Haberman said.
"Let's Go Brandon" became a substitute for "F*** Joe Biden" after NASCAR racer Brandon Brown was being interviewed by reporter Kelli Stavast and the crowd could be heard chanting "F*** Joe Biden." Stavast instead told Brown the crowd was chanting "Let's Go Brandon," drawing widespread mockery on the internet.