San Francisco firefighter wearing 'Let's Go Brandon' T-shirt violated uniform policy

Noah Goldberg
·1 min read
140
An attendee wears a "Let's Go Brandon" hat during a campaign event for Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia, in Kennesaw, Georgia, US, on Monday, May 23, 2022. In the week before the elections, David Perdue had a modest schedule of campaign events, while Kemp rushed around the state flanked by a who's-who of Republicans unpopular with Trump. Photographer: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
An attendee wears a "Let's Go Brandon" hat during a May 23 event in Georgia. A San Francisco fireman was seen on a call wearing a "Let's Go Brandon" T-shirt in violation of department uniform policy. (Dustin Chambers / Bloomberg)

A San Francisco firefighter seen wearing a T-shirt while on duty with the conservative catchphrase "Let's Go Brandon" written on it violated department policy, a spokesman said.

The city employee was captured in a photo posted to Twitter on Saturday in a dark blue T-shirt that resembled the San Francisco Fire Department's official shirts, but had the message posted on the back. The photo shows him standing next to two other firefighters across the street from a firetruck.

"The San Francisco Fire Department was made aware via social media of an employee wearing a non SFFD tee-shirt while on duty," said SFFD spokesman Jonathan Baxter in a statement. "This violates the Department's uniform policy and does not reflect the views and opinions of the San Francisco Fire Department."

Baxter said the department took immediate action and would follow internal and city policies to manage the situation.

The catchphrase on the T-shirt is a meme used by conservatives to insult President Biden. The cryptic jeer originated after Brandon Brown won a NASCAR race in Alabama in October 2021, when fans were chanting "F— Joe Biden," but a television journalist said they might be chanting, "Let's Go Brandon."

Since then, numerous Republican members of Congress have used the phrase.

"The fact is we have a uniform policy," said Daniel Gracia, president of San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798. "You’re supposed to wear your department-issued department-certified equipment."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.