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In November 2020, a week after JOE BIDEN was declared the winner of the presidential election, a Chinese illustrator named YANG QUAN posted several cartoons on his Weibo microblog account depicting the president-elect as evil and seemingly all-powerful.

“The sleeping king ascends the throne, the devil is resurrected,” reads the Chinese caption on one illustration of Biden atop an Iron Throne-esque chair made up of automatic weapons as a hellish blaze surrounds him. Yang has posted many other images in the 20 months since — often with pro-China, nationalistic messages.

Those images were largely forgotten…. until this past week, when they went viral in the United States as Democrats co-opted them as part of a meme dubbed “Dark Brandon.”

Yang’s images were shared by, among others, White House aides, Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.), the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Worksand thousands of Biden fans celebrating several of the president’s legislative objectives passing through Congress. One administration official turned an illustration — of Biden’s yellow eyes aglow — into the cover photo on their personal Twitter account.

Far from the portrayal Yang set out to create, it’s been fashioned into a boast, depicting Biden playing five-dimensional chess, a master of the political dark arts.

“’Dark Brandon’ is the Malevolent kind of Biden we need,” wrote Mel Magazine last month.

Biden is no stranger to being mememed. During the Obama years he was portrayed as the bumbling “Uncle Joe,” always blurting out something off key and obsessing over his aviators and Corvette. As president, he’s been punished as elderly and frail and in over his head. The phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” a euphemism for “F— Joe Biden,” became the soundboard for countless gifs and graphics.

The Dark Brandon meme is drawn from that. It grew on Reddit, Twitter, and TikTok over the past few months – sometimes ironically as a way of mocking Trump superfans. But it took the leap into normie-discourse this past weekend as the massive reconciliation package was poised to pass the Senate; Sinister Biden suddenly became the all-powerful president.

“Foolish mortals, you have awoken Dark Brandon,” one TikTok video went to the tune of “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

“No more bourgeois malarkey,” went another. Several users posted “Dark Brandon” explainer videos, too.

The White House leaned in, posting photos of Biden with red laser eyes — a look that has more often been used in the past by right-wing activists and crypto currency evangelists.

“Dark Brandon is crushing it,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote on Twitter.

The “Dark Brandon” Reddit channel went wild over the White House’s embrace.

The president’s opponents weren’t impressed. In fact, they thought it was all a bit reckless. Republican National Committee spokesperson EMMA VAUGHNcriticized the White House for posting “Chinese propaganda to celebrate the fact they raised taxes during a recession and gave away billions of dollars for electric vehicles that depend on China for parts.”

The meme represented a rare moment of internet virality for a president who White House officials acknowledge doesn’t draw from a Twitter-heavy base of support.

And while the White House often repeats the “Twitter is not real life” mantra, the internet love was welcomed in some Democratic circles after several months of trying to defend an administration with approval numbers in the thirties.

“Being a Joe Biden supporter hasn’t been very fun over the past year, and Dark Brandon is fun!” said one Democratic digital strategist close to the White House. “It’s a sign the vibes are improving — this couldn’t have bubbled up unless there are some actual genuine W’s to point to.”

Even White House staff secretary NEERA TANDEN joined in. Responding to a tweet reading: “Lasers shooting out of Joe Biden’s eyes is an official Statement of Administration Policy,” Tanden wrote“This is an official position.”

She later tweeted: “just kidding,” which is precisely the thing one would write under pressure from Dark Brandon.

With help from Philem Kine.

MESSAGE US — are you the chinese illustrator YANG QUAN? We want to hear from you! Alex does not speak Chinese but he knows people who do. And we’ll keep you anonymous if you’d like. Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at [email protected].

This one’s from Allie. Which president invented the swivel chair?

(Answer at the bottom.)

PAYING A VISIT: The president and first lady JILL BIDEN visited flood-ravaged Kentucky on Monday to assess damage and visit with affected families. The pair, along with Gov. ANDY BESHEAR and first lady britain beshear, also met with first responders. During a briefing at a Kentucky elementary school, Biden pledged federal help to rebuild, saying “I promise you we’re staying.”

A HOLE IN OUR BAGEL ITEM: Last week, we reported that former Biden Covid Czar Jeff Zients is an investor in Call Your Mother, the DC Jewish deli now expanding to Colorado in the spring of 2023. In fact, Zients was an investor. As the Washington Post reported, I have divested from the company. We apologize for the error. We still want the bagels.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: The new New York Fed report that shows consumer inflation expectations came in with a huge plunge. White House Chief of Staff RON KLAIN retweeted a CNBC clip detailing the news, reiterating: “It’s [sic] biggest drop ever.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by WSJ’s CATHERINE LUCEY that contrasts the president’s Delaware visits to how many media interviews he’s granted since he’s started the job: “In his first 18 months in office, [Biden] traveled to Delaware 46 times and to Camp David 18 times. He has played 15 rounds of golf, conducted 17 formal press conferences and gave 20 sit-down interviews, according to former CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knollerwho tracks presidential data.”

Lucey writes the figures “underscore a media strategy that has relied more on prepared remarks and brief question-and-answer sessions with reporters than on formal press conferences and interviews.”

A SERIOUS AMOUNT OF PERSONNEL NEWS: OSAREMEN OKOLO is leaving the White House where she has been a policy adviser for the Office on Covid-19 Response, our DANIEL LIPPMAN you have learned. Okolo, who was previously an alum of the Senate HELP Committee and office of Rep. JAN SCHAKOWSKY (D-Ill.), is heading to Harvard University to begin her PhD in the history of science.

Lipman also has learned that:

— VERONICA VALDEZ is now White House liaison at the Defense Department. She most recently was special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs. LEO CROSS is now deputy White House liaison at DOD. He most recently was special assistant to the under secretary of the Navy.

— ZEPPA KREAGER is now senior adviser to the US Ambassador to Mexico. She most recently was White House liaison to the US Agency for International Development. JENNIFER SOSA replaced her as White House liaison at USAID. She most recently was deputy WH liaison at DoD.

— CAROLINE MCKAY, who was chief of staff to the White House Counsel and deputy associate counsel, has left the White House. McKay was integral to setting up the counsel’s office, where she worked on judicial nominations, including Biden’s Supreme Court pick.

— JENNIFER SOKOLER has replaced McKay as chief of staff. She is a former counsel in the Supreme Court and appellate practice at O’Melveny and Myers. The White House has also added a deputy chief of staff position for the office, which has been filled by CAROLINE SABA.

ADDITIONAL UKRAINE AID: The White House announced another $1 billion in aid for Ukraine Monday, as the Russian invasion drags onto its seventh month. The new aid package will include more rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, ammunition and other equipment from the Department of Defense, AP’s LOLITA C. BALDOR and ELLEN KNICKMEYER report.

NOT ANTICIPATING AN INVASION: COLIN KAHLthe undersecretary of defense for policy, said Monday that the Defense Department has not changed its assessment that China will not invade Taiwan in the next two years, despite Beijing’s recent moves to launch unprecedented military drills around the island in response to House Speaker NANCY PELOSI‘s visit to Taiwan last week. Our LARA SELIGMAN have more.

Biden told reporters today he’s “not worried” about China retaliating after Pelosi’s visit. “But I’m concerned that they’re moving as much as they are. But I don’t think they’re going to do anything more than they are.” Our kelly hopper have more details on that here.

One year after Afghanistan, spy agencies pivot toward China (AP’s Nomaan Merchant)

Biden’s policies have not revived Scranton. But few blame him. (WaPo’s Cleve R. Wootson Jr.)

Biden Is on a Roll That Any President Would Relish. Is It a Turning Point? (NYT’s Peter Baker)

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with LAWRENCE O’DONNELL” tonight at 10 pm EST

As an undergraduate student at Stanford, ZEV KARLIN-NEUMANNspeechwriter and communications adviser to the Domestic Policy Advisor, spoke at the university’s 2010 convocation.

I have offered great advice for the students, like: “Read on friends and family, develop your passion, engage in your surroundings, find and make meaning in your time here. Above all, love to learn and learn to love.”

And he ended his speech by welcoming the incoming freshmen and getting them excited for what’s ahead: “Everyone is very friendly – ​​the gals are quite attractive – and it’s a very good life.”

THOMAS JEFFERSON invented the modern day swivel chair. Jefferson had sought to enhance the windsor chair — which has a wooden seat and backing with lines like a comb, according to this summary by Untold History. I have added a spindle and voila! The swivel chair was created.

Here’s an animated rundown of how it happened from Untold History:

Fiona the Hippo now has a little brother.

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden welcomed the healthy calf into the world on Aug. 3.

The 23-year-old mother Bibi carried the boy, who weighs at least roughly 60 pounds.

“We’re just happy that the calf is healthy. The sex didn’t matter much to the hippo team, but it will be interesting to observe and compare the behavioral differences between a hand-raised girl and a mom-raised boy,” Christina Gorsuch, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in statement Monday.

The zoo has not named the calf yet and is currently accepting suggestions through an online form. The name will be announced later this week.

After Fiona was born six weeks premature in 2017 and weighed just 29 pounds, zookeepers questioned whether she would survive.

Following extensive care and attention — including an IV the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center helped put in her from dehydration — Fiona defied the odds.

Fiona drew fans from all over the world who supported her each step of the way. Millions have tuned into Fiona’s own show from her on Facebook.

She became the zoo’s star animal and helped get more positive responses following the death of Harambe in 2016. The 17-year-old western lowland gorilla was shot and killed after a child fell into the enclosure.

If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

The Laundrie family attorney, Steve Bertolino, wished the Petito-Schmidt family “best of luck” in their wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department in Utah on Monday, but he also said he does not believe that the officers involved did anything wrong.

Almost a year after Moab police responded to a domestic violence call alleging that Brian Laundrie, 23, had slapped and hit his ex-fiancee, Gabby Petito, 22, in public outside a grocery store on the city’s main street, Petito’s parents announced they intend to file a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the officers failed to recognize their daughter was a victim of domestic violence and mishandled the call.

The officers, Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins, separated the couple for the night, leaving Petito with their converted camper van and dropping Laundrie off at a local motel — despite acknowledging on bodycam video that Utah law required them to make an arrest in domestic violence cases .

GABBY PETITO’S PARENTS ANNOUNCE WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AGAINST MOAB POLICE OVER BRIAN LAUNDRIE 911 CALL

Bertolino said he was speaking on his own behalf and not for Chris or Roberta Laundrie.

“The Moab police, in my view, did not contribute to the death of Gabby Petito in any way,” the New York-based attorney, who had represented Brian Laundrie before his death, told Fox News Digital. “My understanding of the Moab incident is that Gabby was the aggressor and admitted on camera to hitting Brian first.”

Lawyers for Petito’s parents announced Monday a notice of claim for a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department and several employees involved in the call directly and indirectly.

GABBY PETITO’S MOTHER SLAMS BRIAN LAUNDRIE’S NOTEBOOK CONFESSION

“The Moab police report indicated that they could have arrested Gabby but chose not to and instead separated Brian and Gabby,” Bertolino said. “A full five days after the Moab incident took place Brian flew home to Florida from Salt Lake City. During the time while Brian was in Florida, Gabby was communicating with her family de ella and others while she waited in Salt Lake City for Brian to return.”

Laundrie flew home to Florida for a week, then returned to Utah, where he and Petito continued their cross-country van-life road trip — but not for long. By the end of August, according to lawyers for Petito’s parents and the FBI, she had been beaten and choked to death at a campsite north of Jackson, Wyoming.

BRIAN LAUNDRIE FOUND: PARENTS MAY HAVE JUST MISSED UNCOVERING REMAINS THEMSELVES

“The intervening days and events from the Moab incident to the date of Gabby’s death appear to be far enough removed from the reasonable actions of the officers on the scene,” Bertolino said. “I see no legal liability, but maybe the city of Moab will settle the matter. So, best of luck to the Petito family in their quest to recover for their loss from another source.”

An outside investigation into the Aug. 12 domestic violence incident between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah, found “unintentional mistakes” — and issued a number of recommendations on how the department should move forward.

Moab has not provided Fox News Digital with any documents, comment or confirmation that any of these recommendations had been followed. A city spokesperson declined to comment Monday citing a policy on pending litigation.

The family alleges that Moab officers Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins failed to properly handle a 911 call in which a witness claimed he saw Brian Laundrie hitting Petito and trying to steal her phone and drive off without her in the middle of downtown Moab. The court filing also indicates former Moab Police Chief Bret Edge and former Assistant Chief Braydon Palmer inadequately prepared and trained their officers.

“We believe that these officers were negligent, and their negligence contributed to Gabby’s death,” Brian Stewart, an attorney for the Petito-Schmidt family, told reporters Monday, later adding, “They did not understand the law and did not apply the law properly in Gabby’s situation.”

Bertolino has long maintained that he does not believe the Moab officers were wrong.

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He told Fox News Digital after the independent investigator’s report into the incident was released on Jan. 12 that he believes the officers “did the best they could” and “did the right thing.”

“To label every disagreement between couples a citable domestic violence incident is to criminalize human emotions and reactions that should be dealt with outside of the criminal code,” he said. “In my opinion, the officers did the right thing by separating the two young adults.”

If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

Mr. Trump delayed returning 15 boxes of material requested by officials with the National Archives for many months, only doing so when there became a threat of action being taken to retrieve them.

The FBI would have needed to convince a judge that it had probable cause that a crime had been committed to obtain a search warrant, and proceeding with a search on a former president’s home would almost surely have required sign-off from top officials at the bureau and the Justice Department.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment, and Justice Department officials did not initially respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Trump was not at his home in Florida at the time of the raid, and was in the New York area.

Mr. Trump, who campaigned for president in 2016 criticizing Hillary Clinton’s practice of maintaining a private email server for government-related messages while she was secretary of state, was known throughout his term to rip up official material that was intended to be held for presidential files. One person familiar with his habits said that he included classified material that was shredded in his bedroom and elsewhere.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Mr. Trump said, maintaining it was an effort to stop him from running for president in 2024. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries.”

“They even broke into my safe!” he wrote.

Mr. Trump did not share any details about what the FBI agents said they were searching for.

The search took place on Monday morning, a person familiar with it said, although Mr. Trump claimed agents were still there many hours later.

The search was at least in part for whether any records remained at the club, the person familiar with the search said.

Aides to President Biden said they were stunned by the development and had learned of it from Twitter.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Mr. Trump said, maintaining it was an effort to stop him from running for president in 2024. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries.”

“They even broke into my safe!” he wrote. “What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democratic National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.”

The reported search came at a time when the Justice Department has also been stepping up questioning of former Trump aides who had been witnesses to discussion and planning in the White House of Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his loss in the 2020 election.

Mr. Trump has been the focus of questions asked by federal prosecutors in connection with a scheme to send “fake” voters to Congress for the certification of the Electoral College.

The current FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, was appointed by Mr. Trump.

The law governing the preservation of White House materials, the Presidential Records Act, lacks teeth, but criminal statutes can come into play, especially in the case of classified material.

Criminal codes, which carry jail time, prohibit anyone who “willfully injures or commits any depredation against any property of the United States” and anyone who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates or destroys” government documents.

Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor charge for removing classified material from a government archive. In 2007, Donald Keyser, an Asia expert and former senior State Department official, was sentenced to prison after he confessed to keeping more than 3,000 sensitive documents — ranging from the classified to the top secret — in his basement.

In 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency announced it had suspended the security clearance of its former director, John M. Deutch, after concluding that he had improperly handled national secrets on a desktop computer at his home.

In January of this year, the archives retrieved 15 boxes that Mr. Trump had taken with him to Mar-a-Lago from the White House residence when his term ended. The boxes included material subject to the Presidential Records Act, which requires that all documents and records pertaining to official business be turned over to the archives.

The items in the boxes included documents, mementos, gifts and letters. The archives did not describe the classified material it found other than to say that it was “classified national security information.”

Because the National Archives “identified classified information in the boxes,” the agency “has been in communication with the Department of Justice,” David S. Ferriero, the national archivist, told Congress at the time.

Federal prosecutors subsequently began a grand jury investigation, according to two people briefed on the matter. Prosecutors issued a subpoena earlier this year to the archives to obtain the boxes of classified documents, according to the two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The authorities also made interview requests to people who worked in the White House in the final days of Mr. Trump’s presidency, according to one of the people.

Jonathan Martin contributed reporting.