An NBC Sports reporter went into damage control Saturday while interviewing the winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
What happened?
Standing on the start-finish line of the famed Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, an NBC Sports reporter was interviewing winning driver Brandon Brown, whose victory on Saturday marked his first win in NASCAR’s top three divisions.
During the interview, fans in the grandstands began audibly chanting against President Joe Biden.
“Brandon, you also told me— as you can hear the chants from the crowd,” the reporter said as she was interrupted by the raucous crowd chanting, “F*** Joe Biden.”
The reporter, however, said the crowd was chanting “Let’s go Brandon,” in support of Brown’s victory. But footage of the incident makes it clear the crowd was chanting “F*** Joe Biden” — not “Let’s go Brandon.” The crowd continued their chant through Brown’s interview.
According to Fox News, NASCAR initially posted the portion of Brown’s post-race interview that included the anti-Biden chant to one of its social media channels. That post was reportedly later deleted without explanation.
The incident was a top trending event on Twitter by Sunday morning.
“Videos emerge of a post-race interviewer telling NASCAR winner Brandon Brown that the crowd was chanting ‘let’s go Brandon’ as an anti-Joe Biden chant featuring a derogatory word broke out at the Sparks 300 at Talladega on Saturday,” Twitter explained.
Anything else?
The anti-Biden chant has appeared at numerous college football games, a boxing match, an MLB game, and even at the Ryder Cup.
The chants come as Biden faces massive legislative battles on Capitol Hill; sharp criticism over his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, border crisis, and Afghanistan withdrawal; and cratering support in polls.
The latest RealClearPolitics average says that Biden’s approval rating sits at 45.2% while his disapproval rating stands at 49.2%. Meanwhile, Biden’s promise to unify the country appears to be a foregone possibility as more Americans than ever believe it’s time for the country to split.