When the crowd chanted “Let’s Go Brandon!” he joked, “I still like the first phrase better, somehow more accurate.”

He added of the NASCAR mix-up by the NBC reporter Kelli Stavast, “I still haven’t figured out was that young, attractive female reporter was she trying to cover up? Or was she being nice? Did she not understand what was happening? She works for NBC. So it’s about 94% sure that she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Anyway, well, Brandon has become a big star. Nobody ever heard of this guy. Now. He’s one of the biggest stars. Nobody ever heard of Brandon’s history.”