02/26/26

To public officials and political candidates of all stripes: enough already with the foul language.

Government leaders since the founding of the United States have used off-color words. According to one associate professor of presidential studies, “President and Vice Presidents who don’t swear are the exception.”

But there’s a difference today—and it’s huge. Until very recently, officials and candidates limited their strong talk to private conversations, with their friends, staffs, and colleagues. If one was caught uttering those hot words, it was usually because they had forgotten that the microphone was turned on, or because recordings of their private conversations had gone public for whatever reason.

A few Presidents developed reputations for foul language, nearly always said in private.  The chief executives best known for potty-mouth are probably Andrew Jackson, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. Nixon was careful to restrain himself in front of the voters, but the Watergate tapes found him out. The other two were likewise pretty circumspect in public venues.

President Jackson had a pet parrot named Polly on whom he doted. Polly was his constant companion, and consequently had every opportunity to pick up his words and phrases. 

Jackson’s 1845 funeral, eight years after he left office, was held at his home, with Polly present. The large crowd upset the parrot, and she began swearing loudly and colorfully, to the point that she had to be removed from the service, according to a reverend who was present, recounting the episode years later. A truly fowl-mouthed bird.

Back in Jackson’s time, the most shocking swear words had to do with the Almighty. That has changed. Today those involving human anatomy have moved to the top—or the bottom—of the no-nos. They describe bodily functions and body parts located at the base of the abdomen.

And it isn’t just Presidents, of course. Many people appear to link swearing with authenticity, so any official or candidate who swears in public gains stature with some voters. It didn’t used to be that way.

And political protestors both left and right show no reluctance to wear shocking T-shirts or carry scurrilous signs, or to chant smut in unison.

Lots of folks think that’s cool.

It’s ironic that at a time when legislatures like Iowa’s shrink classroom discussion of sex and gender topics, they have no trouble giving a pass to public officials whose language would send a kid to the principal’s office if he or she used it in class. 

I’d love to hear a voter immediately call out an official during a political speech for using what President Trump calls “locker room talk.” Confronting foulness directly may be the only way to raise the level of political discourse.

The most admired American leaders used more acceptable, and more creative, words to make their point. ♦