Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
'Pottymouth': Trump presides over a coarsening of American politics
Politics
‘Pottymouth’: Trump presides over a coarsening of American politics
By Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker
Oct. 23, 2019 at 7:21 a.m. EDT
President Trump unleashed a gusher of foul language, referring to himself as a “son of a bitch,” claiming that Joe Biden was a good vice president only because “he understood how to kiss Barack Obama’s ass,” and saying “hell” 18 times — and that was all in a single campaign rally. ... At another rally the following night, Trump denigrated Biden’s son, Hunter, for his struggles with substance abuse and called him a “loser,” while also declaring that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “hates the United States of America.”
And just this week, Trump declared that the House impeachment inquiry was a “lynching” — equating his political troubles with the systematic murders of African Americans by racist white mobs. ... Trump, who long ago busted traditional standards for civil discourse and presidential behavior, has taken his harsh rhetoric and divisive tactics to a new level since impeachment proceedings began a month ago — and he appears to be pulling a significant part of the country along with him.
A number of Republicans, for example, defended Trump’s lynching comparison, pointing to past uses of the metaphor by Biden and other Democrats. The Trump campaign is selling “Where’s Hunter?” T-shirts for $25, while the House Republicans’ campaign arm mocked a Democratic congressman and his wife for seeking marital counseling. And at a conference for a pro-Trump group at the president’s Miami golf resort, an incendiary animated video was shown depicting Trump on a gun rampage inside a church, murdering members of the media, political rivals and a “Black Lives Matter” protester.
....
Some evangelicals, for example, have objected to Trump’s occasional use of the epithet “goddamn,” which many Christians view as blasphemy. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the evangelical Liberty University, said that he was unaware of those incidents, however, and that Trump’s other profanities do not offend him, though it’s not the way Falwell himself speaks in public. ... “I think it’s part of his personality,” Falwell said. “There’s nothing un-Christian about saying ‘damn’ or ‘hell.’ ” ... Although some of Trump’s rhetoric would likely violate the school’s code of conduct barring “offensive or crude language directed at individuals,” Falwell emphasized that the rules only apply to students on campus. ... “So if somebody leaves Liberty University and decides to be president, we’re not going to say they’re bad because they start cussing,” he said.
....
Jenna Johnson contributed to this report.
Ashley Parker is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2017, after 11 years at the New York Times, where she covered the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns and Congress, among other things. Follow https://twitter.com/ashleyrparker
Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. He previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Rucker also is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter. Follow https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker
‘Pottymouth’: Trump presides over a coarsening of American politics
By Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker
Oct. 23, 2019 at 7:21 a.m. EDT
President Trump unleashed a gusher of foul language, referring to himself as a “son of a bitch,” claiming that Joe Biden was a good vice president only because “he understood how to kiss Barack Obama’s ass,” and saying “hell” 18 times — and that was all in a single campaign rally. ... At another rally the following night, Trump denigrated Biden’s son, Hunter, for his struggles with substance abuse and called him a “loser,” while also declaring that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “hates the United States of America.”
And just this week, Trump declared that the House impeachment inquiry was a “lynching” — equating his political troubles with the systematic murders of African Americans by racist white mobs. ... Trump, who long ago busted traditional standards for civil discourse and presidential behavior, has taken his harsh rhetoric and divisive tactics to a new level since impeachment proceedings began a month ago — and he appears to be pulling a significant part of the country along with him.
A number of Republicans, for example, defended Trump’s lynching comparison, pointing to past uses of the metaphor by Biden and other Democrats. The Trump campaign is selling “Where’s Hunter?” T-shirts for $25, while the House Republicans’ campaign arm mocked a Democratic congressman and his wife for seeking marital counseling. And at a conference for a pro-Trump group at the president’s Miami golf resort, an incendiary animated video was shown depicting Trump on a gun rampage inside a church, murdering members of the media, political rivals and a “Black Lives Matter” protester.
....
Some evangelicals, for example, have objected to Trump’s occasional use of the epithet “goddamn,” which many Christians view as blasphemy. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the evangelical Liberty University, said that he was unaware of those incidents, however, and that Trump’s other profanities do not offend him, though it’s not the way Falwell himself speaks in public. ... “I think it’s part of his personality,” Falwell said. “There’s nothing un-Christian about saying ‘damn’ or ‘hell.’ ” ... Although some of Trump’s rhetoric would likely violate the school’s code of conduct barring “offensive or crude language directed at individuals,” Falwell emphasized that the rules only apply to students on campus. ... “So if somebody leaves Liberty University and decides to be president, we’re not going to say they’re bad because they start cussing,” he said.
....
Jenna Johnson contributed to this report.
Ashley Parker is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2017, after 11 years at the New York Times, where she covered the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns and Congress, among other things. Follow https://twitter.com/ashleyrparker
Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. He previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House, and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Rucker also is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter. Follow https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker