A boat decked out in anti-President Biden slogans, including “Let’s go Brandon,” won a Virginia contest — only to be stripped of the title two days later for being too political.
Capt. Bill Berger won “Best in Show” at Saturday’s annual Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade with a display that had a large “FJB” and “Let’s go Brandon,” phrases that are synonymous with “F–k Joe Biden.”
“When we left, we were declared the winner,” Berger told WTKR.
But “48 hours later it was stripped from us, and I think it’s from pressure,” the short-lived winner said.
The board of directors for the Yorktown Foundation confirmed to the local station that Berger’s boat was later disqualified because of its “overt political message.”
One of the board’s members, Dr. Walt Akers, reckoned that judges did not know what the slogans meant and were swayed by huge cheers the vessel got at the show.
“It was very well lit — it was a beautiful boat,” Akers said. “The guy did a great display … The crowd was very responsive to it.”
Akers said that because the foundation is a nonprofit corporation, “by law we’re not allowed to have any political view” — and fears the scandal could threaten the future of the 25-year tradition.
“We absolutely apologize for this,” Akers told WTKR. “We’re going to take every action going forward to make sure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.”
Berger insisted that even in his application for the event, he was clear that his theme was “Let’s Go Brandon,” the phrase that went viral when an NBC Sports reporter claimed it was what NASCAR fans were shouting when they were actually chanting “F–k Joe Biden.”
Berger remained unapologetic, insisting that his boat is still “best in show to the crowd.”
“I think our message got across,” he told the local station.
“We have a horrible president. Is it inappropriate? In today’s world, I don’t think so,” he added, while decrying “unnecessary” threats he’s since faced online.
