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Does the GOP have a beef with Philly Elmo?

The Elmo mascot, who plays in the Positive Movement drum line, appeared at Biden's rally Wednesday at Girard College.

Philly Elmo and his drum line make a brief appearance in the gym at Girard College on Wednesday before President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally to announce an initiative aimed at gaining support from Black voters.
Philly Elmo and his drum line make a brief appearance in the gym at Girard College on Wednesday before President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally to announce an initiative aimed at gaining support from Black voters.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
    by Anna Orso
    Published 

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.

Elmo campaigned with President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

We think Lauren Vidas said it best when she referred to the mascot, who plays in the Positive Movement drum line, as “our cultural equivalent of the bagpipe players who greet dignitaries visiting Scotland.”

Yes, the person who traverses the city in a bootleg Elmo costume is an institution, so Philly Democrats were thrilled when he and his drum line played at Biden’s Girard College rally. Kudos to whomever on the Biden campaign orchestrated the built-for-Philly-Twitter moment.

Not everyone got the joke. National reporters coming to our fair city were quite confused about why Elmo was there, and some even asked Biden campaign staffers about it.

The big red guy also went semi-viral in circles less friendly to the president.

A Republican National Committee account with more than half a million followers on X shared a video from the rally, writing: “Top Biden campaign surrogate Elmo warms up the ‘crowd’ at Biden’s ‘rally’ in Philadelphia.” The conservative site Gateway Pundit called it a “clown show.” And Fox News host Jesse Watters did a segment on the rally and the “origins of Philly Elmo,” showing video of the mascot dancing in front of a fire.

“Fitting,” Watters quipped.