US President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden participate in an event to call NORAD and track the path of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Building on December 24, 2021 in Washington, DC.Photo:AFP

If the US could put aside political discord for one day of the year, then Christmas should be that day. But the fact is, even a Christmas call to express holiday wishes and gratitude for US military service members around the world is still used to express extreme political sentiment. American citizens may even abuse the president with euphemistic and insulting language on the phone. Such an abnormal situation shows the morbid division in US society and an inability to resolve social problems.

"Let's Go Brandon," a father and former police officer Jared Schmeck said on the phone when US President Joe Biden and the first lady were taking calls into the North American Aerospace defense Command Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve on Friday.

"Let's Go Brandon" is a vulgar anti-Biden slogan - a sanitized version of "Fxxx Joe Biden." The slogan has become an internet sensation in the US and is especially popular among supporters of former US president Donald Trump.

However, Biden appeared to be ignorant of this taunt on the phone. He even responded, "Let's go Brandon, I agree" and tried to ask whether Schmeck lived in the US state of Oregon. Why Biden repeated the insulting slogan is not clear, but it is still doubtful whether Biden has sufficient knowledge of the climate in US society.

Biden's approval rating has declined significantly since he entered office. This phone call shows the American people's dissatisfaction, particularly from Republican voters. "Apparently, Schmeck is a man who was not being polite enough and also showed his disrespect. But in fact, this reflects the serious division among American people," Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

Such a slogan that insults the president has become "viral" in the US, which demonstrates the severe partisan polarization. Biden is the president elected by the American people themselves. However, it seems that American people are not satisfied with his performance at all. At the end of his first year in power, Biden is facing many challenges including the surge in Omicron variant cases and the setbacks while promoting his Build Back Better agenda.

During the 2020 US presidential elections, many people taunted that American people were not voting for the candidate they supported as president, but who was less "irritating." Biden won, but in fact, no matter who was elected, nearly half of the American people would remain dissatisfied, leading to a severe internal division in the US. Under such circumstances, the US is full of dissatisfaction, and domestic policies are always difficult to implement. This will only trigger more dissatisfaction among the American people, perpetuating a vicious circle.

"This phone call incident is just a small tipping point, and more dissatisfaction may erupt in the future. American people may tend to blame Biden for all the problems such as the weak economic recovery in the US, difficulties encountered by ordinary people and the failed COVID-19 fight - after all, he is the incumbent US president. Biden will face many more challenges in maintaining domestic solidarity and uniting people in the future," Zhang said.

"Let's Go Brandon" shows the US' morbid division, which has almost become an incurable disease in the country. What will the country become when half of the American people's wishes oppose the other half? The current division makes the country seem as if it is heading toward an inevitable decline. In a society that is so divided, almost no problem can be resolved, nor can anything be changed.