Political profanity spikes: How cuss words are reshaping US politics

Political profanity on the rise

Political profanity has moved from the back‑room of campaign strategy to the front pages of nightly news. Researchers say the shift is deliberate: leaders use swear words to signal authenticity, to clash with establishment norms, and to capture algorithm‑driven attention.

Why the shift matters

Nick Beauchamp, a political‑rhetoric scholar at Northeastern, told Axios:

“There’s this dissatisfaction and anti‑establishment fervor that’s been simmering for at least a decade. The appeal of strong language is to channel that energy into a radical rejection of the status quo.”

Recent headlines illustrate the trend. President Trump promised to “beat the fucking shit” out of Iranian forces after an overnight strike. Senator Bernie Moreno (R‑OH) erupted at Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing, shouting, “who the fuck do you think you are?”

Data from Cardiff University shows presidents, vice presidents and presidential hopefuls have used profanity 692 times in public since 1919, with 605 of those incidents occurring in the past decade. ↑ 78% of all recorded swearing comes from Trump and Biden combined; Biden leans toward “damn,” while Trump favors the f‑word and its kin.

Other frequent swearers include Sen. Ruben Gallego (D‑AZ), who posted the f‑word in at least 77 X messages between 2020 and 2026, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R‑WI), with 35 documented uses, according to a New York Times analysis.

Voter research published in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology finds that swearing makes candidates appear more informal, boosting overall impressions among male voters. Female politicians, however, receive mixed reactions; a double standard persists, with women and people of color often penalized for the same tactic.

Social‑media algorithms on TikTok and X amplify outrage, rewarding profanity with likes and shares, while FCC broadcast standards lag behind. As Beauchamp notes, the shock value of expletives erodes over time—today’s “f‑bomb” is tomorrow’s background noise.

Bottom line: profanity can grab attention, but without concrete policy it remains a hollow hook.

Reported by Tariq Al-Fayed (Middle East Geopolitical Strategist).