Vocalist Matt Berninger further explained to The Quietus that it is about "where you can't deal with the reality of what's really going on, so let's just pretend that the world's full of bluebirds and ice skating.

"[3] The National made their network television debut when they performed "Fake Empire" on the Late Show with David Letterman on July 24, 2007.

[11] The members of The National supported the presidential candidate;[11] they put Obama's face on a fundraising T-shirt with the text "Mr. November", taken from the name of a song from the band's third album, Alligator.

[11] In the fifth season premiere episode of the teen drama television series One Tree Hill, several songs by The National were featured, including "Fake Empire".

He described it as "a romantic-sounding tune marked by a quiet declaration that 'We're half awake in a fake empire,' [which] married the lonely-guy blues of a New York night to a veiled critique of American imperialism.