Jared Schmeck: ‘Let’s go Brandon’ caller could run for office because ‘God put me in this position for a reason’

In a matter of days, father who taunted first couple has gone from denying strong political views to appearing on extreme pro-Trump podcasts

The conservative father who used a mocking anti-Biden slur during his child’s surprise Christmas phone call with the president and first lady has given another interview to a right-wing host – and this time hinted at bigger things to come.

Asked by right-wing commentator Todd Starnes whether he had any plans to run for office, Jared Schmeck replied: “I want to pray about it, see what God has for me.

“At the end of the day, I want His will for my life and the direction that it goes,” he continued. “I do feel like God put me in this position for a reason,And I strongly believe that standing up is the right thing to do here as long as that message that I’m portraying is glorifying His name. And yeah, I’ll see where it goes.”

Mr Schmeck has become a low-key hero among fans of Donald Trump since he ended up speaking to the Bidens when his child dialled the North American Aerospace Defence Command’s Santa Tracker hotline on Christmas Eve.

“Merry Christmas and Let’s Go Brandon!” he told the president and first lady, deploying a euphemistic slogan that’s become an anti-Biden rallying cry on the American right.

His behaviour on the call disgusted many on the left and delighted many on the right, but Mr Schmeck initially insisted he is “not a Trumper”, telling The Oregonian that he meant “no disrespect” to the president.

“I understand there is a vulgar meaning to ‘Let’s go Brandon’, he said, “but I’m not that simple-minded, no matter how I feel about him. He seems like he’s a cordial guy.

“There’s no animosity or anything like that. It was merely just an innocent jest to also express my God-given right to express my frustrations in a joking manner...I love him just like I love any other brother or sister.”

This generosity had apparently vanished a few days later when Mr Schmeck appeared on The War Room, hosted by far-right agitator and former Trump associate Steve Bannon. Sporting a red Make America Great Again hat, he stated bluntly that “Donald Trump is my president and he should still be president right now. The election was 10 per cent stolen. So, I just want to make that clear.”

He also claimed that his quoted claim he is not a “Trumper” was false – and by way of explanation for why he used the slogan, he explained it “encompasses the entirety of our frustration with Joe Biden, the administration, the leftist mob, the cancel culture, the mainstream media, that they’re the ones who made this a thing”.