Yet Trump’s “daring” use of curse words is closely linked to his willingness to compare Mexican immigrants to rapists, or to suggest that women who have abortions ought to be punished. His supporters say that they’re sick of political correctness. They don’t want to be lectured about microaggressions and xenophobia; they’re eager to be liberated from what they see as linguistic censorship. So in tossing around forbidden syllables to the enthusiastic approval of his backers, Trump implicitly endorses the idea that hateful speech belongs in the same category as everyday vulgarity. “Plain folks” aren’t afraid to curse—or to root for barring Muslims from entering the country.
This is also a way for Trump—much like former US vice president Dick Cheney—to flex his muscles and emphasize his alpha-male status. In the UK, men challenging opponents to a fight tell them, “Come on then if you’re hard enough!” Trump has consistently used vulgarity to promote his supposed masculinity, right down to calling senator Ted Cruz a “pussy” and reassuring Americans in a Republican presidential debate that he was well-endowed. This attitude is all of a piece with his wide-spectrum attacks on other countries that seem to compose his foreign policy positions.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member