Since first coming into existence, Socialist groups have used the colour red (‘the blood of the people’) for their primary colour. This is why anywhere except the US, the ‘left’ parties - republicans in a ‘fuck the monarchy’ variety - use the colour red.
So the joke here is it’s non-Left-leaning people who ‘paint themselves red’ to pretend to be what they are not.
Since first coming into existence, Socialist groups have used the colour red (‘the blood of the people’) for their primary colour. This is why anywhere except the US, the ‘left’ parties - republicans in a ‘fuck the monarchy’ variety - use the colour red.
So the joke here is it’s non-Left-leaning people who ‘paint themselves red’ to pretend to be what they are not.
Ah, I’m dense, thanks for laying it out for me.