You probably remember the image. It was late on Super Bowl Sunday, 2024. The Kansas City Chiefs had just clawed their way to a nail-biting victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Suddenly, a photo dropped on Joe Biden’s official social media feeds that made half the country laugh and the other half scratch their heads in total confusion.
It was the "Dark Brandon" meme—the President of the United States, eyes glowing with bright red lasers, looking like a low-budget sci-fi villain. The caption was even more biting: "Just like we drew it up."
But that single tweet wasn't just a random joke. It was the culmination of one of the weirdest, most calculated political gambles in recent memory. While everyone was arguing about Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and whether the NFL was "rigged," the Biden team was making a high-stakes decision to stay away from the actual cameras.
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The Interview That Never Was
For decades, there’s been this sorta unspoken rule in Washington. If you’re the President, you sit down for a pre-game interview with whichever network is broadcasting the Super Bowl. It’s basically the biggest "free" audience a politician could ever dream of—over 100 million people just sitting there, waiting for kickoff.
Yet, for the second year in a row, Biden said no.
CBS was the broadcaster in 2024, and they were reportedly pretty surprised when the White House declined the slot. Honestly, it was a massive snub. Political strategists like James Carville went on CNN and basically lost their minds over it. Carville argued that if you have a chance to talk to a fifth of the country and you pass, it’s a sign that your staff doesn't trust you to keep it together on live TV.
The official reason? The White House said they wanted to give the public a "break" from politics during the big game. They wanted people to just enjoy the football. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
The real reason likely had more to do with the Robert Hur report. That was the Special Counsel investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. The report had just come out days before the Super Bowl, and it famously described the President as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory." Taking a live, unscripted interview at that exact moment would have been like walking into a buzzsaw.
TikTok, "Dark Brandon," and the Laser Eyes
Since they skipped the traditional interview, the Biden campaign decided to "meet voters where they are"—which apparently meant TikTok.
On the same day as the Super Bowl, Biden launched his official TikTok account. The first video was a rapid-fire Q&A. They asked him about the game, the Kelce brothers, and the conspiracy theories.
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- The Chiefs vs. Niners? He went with the Eagles (his wife's team).
- The "Rigging" theory? He joked, "I’d get in trouble if I told you."
- The halftime show? He just wanted to see the game.
This brings us back to those laser eyes. For months leading up to the game, a fringe theory had been bubbling in the dark corners of the internet. The idea was that the NFL had rigged the entire season to ensure a Chiefs win, so that Taylor Swift could endorse Biden on the field after the game.
It sounds ridiculous because it is. But instead of ignoring it, the Biden team leaned in. The "Just like we drew it up" tweet was a giant middle finger to the conspiracy theorists. It was their way of saying, "Yeah, we're the ones in control," while mocking the very idea that they could orchestrate a Super Bowl win.
Why This Strategy Was Actually Risky
By ditching the CBS interview and sticking to memes, the Biden team made a very specific choice: they chose the internet over the "normies."
People who watch the Super Bowl pre-game show are often older, moderate voters. These are the people who actually show up at the polls in November. By skipping them, Biden missed a chance to look "presidential" to the largest possible audience.
Instead, he focused on Gen Z and the extremely online. TikTok and Twitter (X) were his battlegrounds. While the "Dark Brandon" stuff killed it with his base, it didn't do much to convince the guy in a bar in Ohio that Biden was sharp enough for four more years.
The Fallout
- Media Backlash: Journalists were annoyed. They felt the President was dodging accountability by only doing "softball" social media clips.
- Base Energized: Younger Democrats loved the "edgy" tone. It made a 100-year-old institution feel somewhat relevant to 20-year-olds.
- The Gaza Shadow: While the memes were flying, many people pointed out the timing was terrible. That same night, major military actions were happening in Rafah. To many, the "laser eyes" felt incredibly tone-deaf and insensitive while a humanitarian crisis was unfolding.
The Long-Term Impact
Looking back, the 2024 Super Bowl wasn't about football for the White House; it was a prototype for a new kind of campaigning. It was the moment they stopped trying to win over the 6:00 PM news crowd and started trying to win the "algorithm."
They realized they couldn't control the narrative on CBS, but they could control it on their own feed. It was a retreat from the traditional public square into a digital echo chamber.
If you're looking to apply this to your own life or business, think about where your "audience" actually lives. Sometimes the "traditional" way of doing things—the big presentation, the formal interview—is actually a trap. Biden's team knew he wouldn't win an hour-long grill session on CBS, so they pivoted to a 30-second TikTok.
Here is how you can use this "Bypass" strategy:
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- Identify your weakness: If you aren't great at live Q&As, don't do them. Use pre-recorded video or written content where you can polish the message.
- Own the joke: If people are making fun of you, lean into it. Turning "Dark Brandon" from an insult into a brand was a stroke of genius.
- Go where the attention is: Most people aren't watching the news. They're scrolling. If you want to be seen, you have to be in the scroll.
Ultimately, Biden at the Super Bowl showed us that the "bully pulpit" isn't a podium anymore. It's an iPhone. Whether that’s a good thing for democracy is a whole different conversation, but it's the world we're living in now.
To stay ahead of how political messaging is shifting, keep an eye on how candidates use non-traditional media during major sporting events this year. The "Super Bowl skip" might just become the new normal.
Next Steps for You
- Review your social strategy: Are you still using "broadcast" methods for a "scroll" world?
- Audit your "Dark Brandon": Is there a criticism of your brand that you could actually turn into a strength?
- Check your timing: Ensure your "fun" content doesn't clash with serious external events, a mistake the Biden team made that night.