Why profanity is having a f*cking moment

Politicians are increasingly abandoning scripted language and publicly cursing as profanity becomes a more common political tool.

Why it matters: The shift suggests politicians are using profanity intentionally to project authenticity, signal confrontation and distance themselves from traditional Washington norms.

What they're saying: "There's this dissatisfaction and anti-establishment fervor that's been present for probably at least a decade now," Nick Beauchamp, a professor at Northeastern University who studies political rhetoric, tells Axios.

"I think that part of the appeal of the strong language… is to take some of that same energy that might otherwise be directed towards radical policy, and instead directs it towards a radical rejection of the status quo."

Driving the news: President Trump said Wednesday morning that American forces were going to "beat the fucking shit" out of Iranian forces after Iran targeted U.S. forces in Jordan overnight.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) cursed out Anthony Fauci, who led the U.S. COVID-19 response, during a Senate hearing Wednesday, condemning the nation's mask requirements at the height of the pandemic.

"Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, who the fuck do you think you were for doing that?"

By the numbers: Presidents, vice presidents and presidential hopefuls have used profanity at least 692 times in public since 1919, according to data from Cardiff University.

And 605 of those instances occurred in just the past 10 years.

Trump and former President Biden account for 78% of all recorded profanity. Biden prefers words such as "damn," whereas Trump has used more colorful language like "fuck," "shit," "bastards" and "shithole."

Other politicians who frequently swear include Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who wrote "fuck" in at least 77 X posts from 2020 to April 2026, and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who used the f-word at least 35 times, according to a New York Times analysis.

Zoom in: Voters perceive swear words as significantly more informal, which measurably improves voters' overall impression of a candidate by making them sound like an ordinary person, according to a study published in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology.

Cuss-filled rhetoric didn't necessarily persuade more voters, but it did help candidates unconsciously pass the "vibe check," indirectly increasing voter support.

Male politicians were more likely to benefit from the strategy, while female politicians were viewed positively with or without swearing, according to the study.

Other researchers say women and people of color who pursue similar strategies may face greater backlash because of expectations around respectability politics.

Between the lines: Engagement-driven algorithms on platforms such as TikTok and X allow politicians to reach voters without the moderation standards the Federal Communications Commission imposes on broadcasters.

Those same algorithms reward outrage and emotion with likes and amplification, meaning supporters who celebrate an f-bomb and critics who condemn it can both boost explicit content.

The bottom line: Beauchamp says comedians learned a long time ago that certain words lose their "power to shock" as people get used to them.

Politicians can lean on an f-bomb now to connect with voters, but eventually splashy, profane headlines alone won't substitute for substantive policy.

Go deeper: The rise of the political potty mouth ...