Elmo showed up at Joe Biden’s rally in Philadelphia

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

Elmo he campaigned with the president Joe Biden on Wednesday.

We think Lauren Vidas he said it best when she mentioned about a mascot who plays on the Positive Movement drum line, as “our cultural equivalent of the bagpipers who greet dignitaries visiting Scotland”.

Yes, the person who wanders around town in a bogus Elmo costume is an institution, so Philadelphia Democrats were thrilled when he and his drum band played at Biden’s rally at Girard College. Kudos to everyone in the Biden campaign who orchestrated a built-for-Philly-Twitter moment.

Not everyone understood the joke. National reporters arriving in our fair city were quite confused as to why Elmo was there, with some even asking Biden campaign staffers about it.

The massive red guy also made a splash in circles less cordial to the president.

A Republican National Committee account with over half a million followers on X shared a video from the rally, writes: “Biden campaign top surrogate Elmo warms up ‘crowd’ at Biden ‘rally’ in Philadelphia.” The conservative website Gateway Pundit called it a “clown show.” And a Fox News host Jesse Watters he did fragment of the rally and “the beginnings of Philly Elmo”, showing a video of the mascot dancing in front of a fire.

“Matched,” Watters joked.