Did she recall saying anything that could have suggested it was a welcomed advance? “Not at all.” “There was no conversation, it was like, out of the blue,” Leeds said. Was there some type of conversation that could have led to this? Carroll’s attorney Mike Ferrara asked. “We were sitting there when all of a sudden, Trump decided to kiss me and grope me,” Leeds said. “I was working out of Connecticut, living in Connecticut, so I wasn’t aware of the social scene or the real estate scene in New York City.” They were served a meal, which Leeds described as “very nice.” The flight crew then cleared their plates. They chatted, but not about anything particularly substantial. “When I got up there and sat down, the gentleman sitting by the window introduced himself as Donald Trump. Leeds had been sitting in coach when a flight attendant asked whether she wanted to sit in first class. This was after, she said, he disavowed his “grab ‘em by the pussy” statement during a presidential debate - claiming to respect women. She first came forward with her allegation that Trump groped her in the late 1970s in October, 2016. Leeds is one of two women Carroll’s team is calling to testify about their own encounters with Trump. The former saleswoman and stockbroker, now 81, described how a routine flight some five decades ago turned into an airborne house-of-horrors at Trump’s hands. Jean Carroll’s civil rape trial against Trump. Leeds’s recollection was delivered as she was testifying Tuesday afternoon in E. “‘I remember you,’” Leeds recalled him saying. Romano added: "Especially as he gears up for a difficult reelection, look for him to lean even more into the 'Dark Brandon' meme on social media as a way of galvanizing supporters online.When Jessica Leeds ran into Donald Trump at a charity gala in the early 1980s, he didn’t say much, but his few words were searing. "Biden's embrace of the Dark Brandon meme shows not only an awareness of the meme and what it represents to many of his followers, but self-awareness of how the meme livens and rejuvenates his public persona," Romano told NPR. Now, Democrats employ Dark Brandon images to tout Biden's policy victories.Īnd that's how one ends up here - with an official presidential campaign site for the United States of America asking supporters to buy a $32 "dark T-shirt" that the campaign says is "best worn while vanquishing Malarkey."Īja Romano, a culture reporter for Vox who's written about the "Dark Brandon" meme, said it's helping to transform the public's perception of the octogenarian president from a bland figure to something more exciting. In this context, they often show images of the president shooting red lasers from his eyes or wearing military gear.īut the left appeared to love it, too. Those memes almost immediately spawned "Dark Brandon," featuring a sinister Joe Biden. Accompanying captions typically call for Trump to take revenge on his political enemies. They usually depict an authoritarian/dictator-like version of Trump in which he sometimes has blue lasers eyes. Then, sometime last year, fringe Donald Trump supporters who called for the former Republican president to run again in 2024 created a series of "Dark MAGA" memes. In late 2021, the phrase "Let's go, Brandon!" - based on a famously misheard crowd chant at a NASCAR race - quickly spread among conservative groups as a direct expletive toward Biden. "Let's get you back on the rails," appears below the smiling, suited image of the president and likely a reference to Biden's love of Amtrak.įor those unfamiliar with the "Dark Brandon" origin story here's a quick recap, which like all things internet is a series of takes on takes. Instead of a plain 404 error, visitors get an eyeful of Biden's alter ego, "Dark Brandon," featuring beaming red laser eyes. And there's something else for those who accidentally navigate to a non-existent page. has all of the things one might expect: photos of the 80-year-old candidate, a campaign video and pleas for donations. President Biden announced on Tuesday that he's officially running for reelection in 2024 and with that comes a brand new campaign website. President Biden's reelection campaign has embraced the "Dark Brandon" meme.
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