Some might call it a cuss-titutional crisis.
Politics is rapidly becoming more profane, with a staggering 87% of swear words from presidents dating back to 1919 coming from commanders in chief within the past 10 years, according to a shocking finding.
President Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden were responsible for 538 profane words— 78% of presidential cuss words used out of the 692 documented since Woodrow Wilson, a researcher in Wales found.
“It used to be rare for presidents, even as candidates, to swear in official remarks,” Dr. Joseph Phillips, a lecturer at Cardiff University, wrote. “Woodrow Wilson broke the profanity seal in 1919, recounting a time where he made a ‘conspicuous *ss of himself.’”
“[P]rofanity can be a signal of authenticity. In a time of low political trust, signals that a politician is ‘authentic’ are at a premium,” he added.
Trump hasn’t been shy about breaking out the expletives when he feels the stakes are high or is simply in the mood for it.
On Wednesday, he told Fox News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent Trey Yingst that the US will “beat the f–king s–t out of” Iran.
That came on the heels of other potty mouth outbursts such as his April ultimatum for Tehran to “open the f—in’ strait, you crazy bas—s, or you’ll be living in hell.”
Trump has proven to be a pioneer on presidential swearing, bringing a broader range of curse words into the presidential vernacular, such as “bas—d,” “b—”, and “f—”, according to Phillips.
While Biden used expletives as president, they were typically more low-key ones such as “d—,” a word he leaned on periodically. During his time as vice president, Biden had infamously dropped the f-bomb, telling then-President Barack Obama “this is a big f—ing deal,” as he signed the Affordable Care Act.
But he refrained from using f-bombs as president in the public eye, though at one point in 2022, he told then-Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy that “No one f—s with a Biden” in a hot mic moment.
The public has seemingly grown more accustomed to hearing politicians use expletives. A YouGov poll found that younger people generally find it more acceptable than their older peers.
On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) dropped an f-bomb in a Senate hearing while grilling Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“Who the f— do you think you were for doing that?” Moreno fumed at him in a viral moment while grilling him over COVID-19-era lockdown policies.
Democrats have also increasingly become potty mouths. Last year, Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) went viral for an X post where she said, “So f—ing f—ed up. I’ll pray they f— him to his face,” in response to an article about Trump attending the Supreme Court hearing on the birthright citizenship case.
“Sorry I just say f— a lot these days.”
