Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) took to Mar-a-Lago Wednesday evening with a red-hot message for Americans: “Let’s Go Brandon.”
Dressed in a red long sleeve one shoulder dress by San Diego-based designer Andre Soriano, the conservative Colorado spitfire revealed the statement, scrawled in white lettering on the back of her dress, as she posed with former president Donald Trump.
It’s not a phrase, it’s a movement! #LGB pic.twitter.com/MpeKAEVfWB
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 5, 2021
Boebert completed the look with her trademark sassy smile and her hair tied back in a loose bun.
In a tweet after the event, Boebert explained why she had brought her “Let’s Go Brandon” message to the Mar-a-Lago event, which was attended by many Washington D.C. conservative luminaries.
“It’s not a phrase, it’s a movement,” she said.
Ben Stout, communications director for Boebert, elaborated, telling Fox News: “It’s not just a phrase, it’s a movement, right? And people are sick and tired of this administration and all the destructive things they’ve done, especially to our economy, and the way that they express that right now is with ‘Let’s go, Brandon.’”
Boebert’s decision to share a viral message on her clothing echoed the recent history of conservative women wearing political messages on clothing. Recording artist Joy Villa, for instance, is known for making political statements on the red carpet. In February of 2017, Villa stunned at the Grammy’s in a blue dress with President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” printed on it. The back of the dress had “Trump” printed across it.
A year later, she wore an eye-catching pro-life gown on the Grammys red carpet. The floor-length white dress featured a fetus encased in the colors of the rainbow. In 2019, she attended the Grammys in a border wall gown draped in silver with barbed wire tufts on her shoulders and carrying a “Make America Great Again” bag. For the 2020 election year Grammys, Villa wore a red latex dress with “Trump 2020” down the front and “Impeached & Re-Elected” on the back.
Boebert posed for photos at the Mar-a-Lago event with retired U.S. Marine Corps gunnery sergeant and political commentator Jessie Jane Duff, political commentators Diamond and Silk, political commentator Mercedes Schlapp, and former Senior Counselor to President Trump Kellyanne Conway.
Congreswoman @laurenboebert says everything better than @AOC.#LetsGoBrandon pic.twitter.com/asjh7ubwSh
— Gunnery Sergeant Jessie Jane Duff (@JessieJaneDuff) November 5, 2021
Catching up w friends @ Mar a lago @DiamondandSilk @RepBoebert @laurenboebert pic.twitter.com/tydrkEF7eB
— T.W. Shannon (@TWShannon) November 5, 2021
Winning pic.twitter.com/SSLhpnGXGs
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) November 4, 2021
This photo should come with a trigger warning for Leftists who are scared off by strong, truth-telling women who don’t back down.
Great to see you as always, @KellyannePolls! pic.twitter.com/3biJVdhsaf
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 5, 2021
“While the gown was celebrated by many onlookers as bold and subversive,” critics called the move “predictably terrible,” and taking the “Brandon thing” to a “dumb new level.”
Of course, Boebert was mocking House Democrat “Squad” member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who was roundly ridiculed online after she wore a white dress emblazoned with the phrase “Tax the Rich” to a swanky, high-dollar 2021 Met Gala in September.
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attending the $35,000-a-ticket #MetGala in a Brother Vellies gown blaring “Tax the Rich” is a complicated proposition,” said New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman at the time.
Big hat tip to CNN, whose September 14 report: “AOC caused a stir with her statement-making Met Gala gown” provided the template for this story.