About

Dank Brandon is a nickname given to U.S. President Joe Biden following his executive order to pardon Americans convicted of simple marijuana possessions and potential loosening federal classification of weed in October 2022. The name is a play on Dark Brandon that came to prominence after Let's Go Brandon and DarkMAGA, used similarly in memes but with a focus on Biden appearing overexaggeratedly pro-marijuana legalization. It trended on Twitter and elsewhere in memes that mostly photoshopped the President with weed signifiers and made fun of Vice President Kamala Harris for her history of convicting minor marijuana possessors. Related posts also commonly use the hashtag "#DankBrandon."

Origin

On April 20th, 2022, Twitter^[1] user Cringepostr posted a tweet related to 4/20 and Dark Brandon that attached a crudely drawn photoshop of Joe Biden hitting a weed pipe. The tweet received only one like (shown below, left), however, it is the first known reference of "Dank Brandon," coming months before its usage related to Biden's October 2022 marijuana policies. On August 25th, 2022, Twitter^[2] user JonMunitz tweeted, "The logical next step after #DarkBrandon is #DankBrandon and decriminalizing Marijuana," and included a different photoshop of Biden smoking weed. The tweet received over 290 likes in a month and a half (shown below, right).

On September 2nd, 2022, Twitter^[3] user joejaggi tweeted a reply that edited the red stage picture from Joe Biden's 'Soul of the Nation' Speech, making the background green, adding weed bags to Biden's hands and making Biden's eyes glow green, receiving over 25 likes in one month (shown below, left).

Despite these precursor examples, Dank Brandon memes didn't become commonplace until after October 6th, 2022, when the President took a step toward marijuana decriminalization when he pardoned thousands with federal offenses for simple marijuana possessions, initiating a review on how the drug is classified.^[4] The first creator to post a Dank Brandon photoshop on October 6th was Twitter^[5] user gelliottmorris, who quote retweeted a "Breaking News" announcement with a drawing made by Vice,^[6] earning over 610 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Spread

Continuing into early October 2022, Dank Brandon memes continued to surface on Twitter and elsewhere online. For instance, minutes after gelliottmorris' QT^[5] on October 6th, 2022, Twitter^[7] user VoteDarkBrandon tweeted a Dank Brandon photoshop, captioning it, "Folks, Dank Brandon is about to puff puff pass some serious legislation," gaining roughly 6,300 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). Around the same time, Twitter^[8] user JohnFugelsang tweeted, "Dank Brandon – now available in Sativa, Indica & Malarkey," gaining roughly 4,100 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References