--- title: Donald Trump Curses More Publicly Than Past Presidents description: Many American politicians have used curse words, but few have done so the way Donald Trump does. canonical: https://time.com/4978212/donald-trump-cursing-swear-words/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-11T19:19:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:56:26.519Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. Here's Why It Might Help Him og:description: Research shows it could be strategic og:url: https://time.com/4978212/donald-trump-cursing-swear-words/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32efb025e8eae073/6988e183656a3fd889bd20cd/gettyimages-851838452.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Donald Trump swearing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. Here's Why It Might Help Him twitter:description: Research shows it could be strategic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32efb025e8eae073/6988e183656a3fd889bd20cd/gettyimages-851838452.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. Here's Why It Might Help Him > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=aba24778-3dcb-4444-878c-dccfb653ddaf&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. Here’s Why It Might Help Him [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. Here’s Why It Might Help Him](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yzmVWJ8R.m3u8) (2:51)  _Published 2017-10-11. If the Trump Administration were a movie, it would be rated R for language._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 11, 2017 7:19 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Oct 11, 2017 7:19 PM UTC Many American politicians have used curse words, but few have done so the way Donald Trump does. Past presidents have been known to use indecorous language in private talks with their advisors or unguarded moments that were caught on tape, but none have made such dramatic and repeated use of curse words in public events. Speaking at a rally in Alabama in September, Trump [argued](http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/23/media/donald-trump-nfl-protest-backlash/index.html) that NFL players like former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick who take a knee during the national anthem should be fired. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!'” he said. Of course, other politicians have sworn. Vice President Joe Biden called the Affordable Care Act a [“big f—ing deal”](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/politics/2010/03/wtf%5Fdid%5Fbiden%5Fjust%5Fsay.html) in a moment picked up by a microphone, while President George W. Bush called a reporter a [“major-league a–hole”](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1821563%5F1821568%5F1821597,00.html) in another hot mic moment. Vice President Dick Cheney once told a Democratic senator to [“go f— yourself,”](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3699-2004Jun24.html) and presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson were [notoriously profane](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/lists/a-brief-history-of-presidential-profanity-20121210/lyndon-johnson-19691231) while talking with advisors. But those were all private moments. Trump has regularly used curse words at public events, especially on the campaign trail where he sprinkled his speeches liberally with [“damn”](https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2016/02/04/79853024/) and [“hell”](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/14/politics/donald-trump-iran-republicans/) and even [“s—“](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-bomb-isis%5Fus%5F56454ccee4b08cda348844bf) and [“p—-.”](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/268714-trump-calls-cruz-a-puy) In [a notorious speech](http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/donald-trump-vegas-profanity-speech/) in Las Vegas in 2011, he dropped the f-word repeatedly, arguing that his message to China would be ““Listen you motherf—ers, we’re going to tax you 25 percent!” Research has [shown](http://time.com/4380189/donald-trump-swearing/) that Trump’s use of swear words could be strategic, helping his image as a truthteller unafraid of being politically incorrect. To learn more about how Trump’s curse words work, watch the video above. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] If the Trump administration were a movie, it would be rated R for language. Political ****. Many politicians curse, but only rarely in public. But Donald Trump has taken the practice to new heights, regularly using vulgar language in televised rallies. They're ripping the **** out of the sea. Most recently, he insulted professional athletes like Colin Kaepernick Who take a knee during the national anthem. Get that son of a **** off the field right now. Out! He's fired! Trump used to be even more profane, using a particularly vulgar term in 2006 to criticize then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. I wish she was a [ BLEEP ]. I don't care if she's a lovely woman. One notorious speech in 2011 was laced with f- bombs about China and other subjects. You're not gonna raise that ****' price, you understand me. Listen you **** we're gonna tax you 25 %. Trump's use of profanity can be strategic. One study found that people thought legal testimony was more credible when it included swear words. And another study in Italy found that they had more favorable impressions of political candidates who cursed [ MUSIC ] Swearing plays into Trump's self- image as a truth teller, unafraid of being politically incorrect. Our country is going to hell. I don't give a damn if it doesn't work for me. He's also used it for emphasis to show that while everyone else promises to say fight terrorists, he'll be tougher. I would bomb the **** out of them. [ APPLAUSE ]. Trump also uses curse words to belittle and denigrate his opponents, as he did while running against Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican primary. She just said a terrible thing. You know what she said? Shout it out. Cause, I don't want to. [ LAUGH ]. She said I never expect to hear that from you again. She said he's a ****. That's terrible. Terrible! Trump's public use of cursing has started to catch on, especially among Democrats. Not that damned wall! But there's a paradox. While Trump's public use of swear words has helped him, his most famous private cursing in the Access Hollywood video got him in trouble. He even issued a rare apology. I moved on her like a ****. I couldnt' get there and she was married. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab by the [ BLEEP ]. Swearing works because it's the kind of thing you're not supposed to say in public. When Trump swears, he's signalling to his audience that he's talking the same way that he would in private, a classical rhetorical move from a populus who criticizes career politicians [ MUSIC ] But even for Trump, who's willing to say quite a lot of things publicly that other people wouldn't there are some conversations that aren't meant to be public. This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly, I'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4978212/donald-trump-cursing-swear-words/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4978212/donald-trump-cursing-swear-words/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Keeps Cursing. 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