Shame on President Trump for his use of profanity while speaking at a recent rally in Louisiana being broadcast on live TV.
I was enjoying the president’s speech right up to the point when he unleashed the full and uncut version of “B.S.” to describe the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. And then I turned it off, not wanting to see my president – he’s president of all of us, by the way, even those with the “Not My President” bumper stickers – swear like a sailor.
I’ve heard Trump use other profanity but not this word, and it was too much, especially since there were children behind the dais.
The audience – including the aforementioned kids – cheered, hooted and hollered after he swore, and that was just as disturbing. We laugh when we’re surprised, so I’ll chalk up their reaction to that conditioned human response.
And, to grant the audience more benefit of the doubt, they obviously wholeheartedly agreed with Trump’s estimation of the Democrats’ politically motivated impeachment fracas. But, still, swearing is unbecoming for the POTUS, no matter the context.
Don’t get me wrong; I like Trump. I like his business acumen, unpredictability and anti-establishment approach. I also realize he uses bombastic humor to great effect. (Liberals think he’s being serious, which makes it all the more funny.) He may have been using the long-form version of B.S. for purely humorous effect in Louisiana but he didn’t appear to be joking, so that’s why I’m critical.
I know I sound like a fuddy-duddy and I know many politicians swear. Democrat Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang repeatedly uses the F-word at campaign rallies. Democrat Rep. Rashida Talib of Michigan promised impeachment while calling Trump a “mother (expletive).” Then-Vice President Joe Biden described President Obama’s signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 a “big (expletive) deal.”
None of these examples is becoming of a representative of the American people. And they’re certainly not presidential. Did the great President Reagan swear at a campaign event or during a press conference? I doubt it.
According to studies, the use of profanity by the public and on TV has been on the uptick in America for the last three decades, since Reagan’s time in office. (Some say his deregulation of TV may have caused the uptick.) Cable TV outlets such as HBO are now filled with it, but even network broadcasters are allowing more of it in prime time.
Even though we’re hearing more profanity on TV and in daily life, people are still bothered by swearing, according to Statista, a pretty amazing website filled with all sorts of statistical surveys.
One poll quoted on Statista in April of this year found that 24% of respondents said they are disturbed “a lot” by profanity on TV; 22% were disturbed “some,” and another 21% said they were disturbed “not too much.” That’s 67% saying they were disturbed at least a bit by the use of profanity. (A total of 27% said they weren’t disturbed “at all” and another 5% didn’t know.)
Of course, Donald Trump is a creation of reality TV, where swearing has become commonplace. So I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when he employs it in his made-for-TV political rallies.
While I’m a Trump supporter and appreciate his sense of humor, he needs to know there’s a limit to what his base will tolerate. Swearing on stage with kids in the audience is too much.
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