Content warning: This article contains language that some may find offensive.
“Language!”
We’ve all heard that exclamation shouted by an exasperated parent when a child is being foul-mouthed.
But when it comes to expletives uttered by politicians, who are supposed to mind their usage of profanity and set a good example, what hope do parents or any other role models have? Especially when that locution is the controversial, flexible and ubiquitous four-letter word ‘fuck’.
The range-covering swear word was uttered by Donald Trump on Tuesday as he lashed out at both Israel and Iran, accusing both countries of violating a ceasefire he tried to broker.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he was very unhappy with Israel after they “dropped a load of bombs” on Iran after the truce to end almost two weeks of fighting was announced.
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” he railed.
By dropping what is commonly refered to as the “F-bomb” – a term playing on the nickname for the hydrogen bomb and utilised when ‘fuck’ is used in an unexpected setting like public media – Trump shocked the press. Especially because he has always been mindful when it comes to expletives.
Only last week, Trump wouldn’t say the word “erection” while construction crews were installing new flag poles on the White House lawn.
“Let’s have a good… They call it a lifting,” said Trump in front of the crew. “They also use another word, but I’m not going to use that word… The word starts with an ‘e’ – You know what the word is? If I ever used it, I’d be run out of town by you people” – referring to the members of the press he was talking to.
Indeed, it’s not every day that an English-speaking head of state exclaims the third-most-severe profanity, according to Andrea Millwood Hargrave’s 2000 study of the attitudes of the British public. (In case you were wondering, number 2 in the most severe ranking is ‘motherfucker’ and number 1 is the dreaded ‘cunt’.)
Despite trigger words that cross the line differing from language to language, Trump’s “fuck” would be the equivalent of French President Macron exclaiming “Putain!” or Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez angrily declairing “puta de mierda”.
But is Trump the first to use the word ‘fuck’ in front of the press?
Before we answer that question, let’s dive into the history of the swear word.
The origins of ‘fuck’
The word’s roots remain somewhat mysterious.
For the longest time, rumour had it that ‘fuck’ was a backronym – an acronym formed from an already existing word by expansion of its letters into the words of a phrase – of “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” or “Fornication Under Consent of the King”.
The first refers to a royal permission allegedly granted during the Middle Ages, as the scarcity of resources caused by the Black Death meant that population growth was an issue. Therefore, permission to engage in intercourse was required. The second concerns the royal permit, issued by a magistrate or lord, for a couple to consume their union. Once approved, the couple were granted a sign that read ‘F.U.C.K.’ to hang on their house, a symbol of their compliance and the King’s favour.
Both of these have been proven to be false etymologies, as ‘fuck’ is thought to have come from the German word ‘fricken’, which means ‘to hit’, and the Swedish dialectal word ‘ficka’, which means ‘to strike’ or ‘to copulate’.
Historians generally agree that ‘fuck’ became a familiar word for sexual intercourse around the 15th or 16th century.
However, in 2022, a British historian stumbled upon what he believed to be the earliest known use of the word ‘fuck’ in a sexual context.
Paul Booth, a research fellow at the UK’s Keele University, found the name “Roger Fuckebythenavele” (“one who fucks via the naval”) in a 1310 court document in the UK National Archives.
Otherwise, the earliest occurrence of ‘fuck’ as a swear word comes from a British poem written anonymously around 1475 in both English and Latin. Titled “Fleas, flies and friars”, the poem criticised the Carmelites friars of the town of Ely.
One line of the poem reads: “Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk fvccant vvivys of heli” which, post-decoding, means: “They (the friars) are not in heaven, since they fuck the wives of Ely.”
So, elusive though its origins may be, ‘fuck’ has travelled through time to become commonplace – especially in Martin Scorsese films, as it was dropped a grand total of 569 times in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street according to Guiness World Records.
Fucking standards
Back to Trump, who is hardly the first US politician to utter the word ‘fuck’ in a public sphere. However, every time it was used, controversy was never far.
One of the earliest uses of the word by a US president was in 1965, when Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson said the following to Greek ambassador Alexandros Matsas, who took issue with American plans in Cyprus: “Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If these two fellows continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephant’s trunk, whacked good”.
Ouch.
In June 2004, US Vice President Dick Cheney told Democratic senator Patrick Leahy: “Go fuck yourself”, while John McCain told US Sentor John Cornyn: “Fuck you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room” when Cornyn objected to McCain’s perceived intrusion upon a Senate meeting on immigration.
Another ‘fuck’ that got people upset happened on 23 March 2010, when then-Vice President Joe Biden thought he couldn’t be heard and ‘whispered’ into President Barack Obama’s ear: “This is a big fucking deal” – referring to the US health care reform bill.
All instances led to outcry, criticism and in some cases, formal apologies.
The fact that profanity isn’t new in politics is hardly surprising, as a 2009 study revealed the cathartic effect that swearing can have. And considering everything that is going on in the world of late, it’s borderline astonishing that politicians – regardless of their political alliances – don’t ‘fuck’ this and ‘fuck’ that on a daily basis.
Plus, swearing is normalised for what is referred to as “blue collar” work sectors – a key demographic when it comes to votes. So, dropping a few f-shaped transgressives into speeches could be considered as judicious.
However, the source of the pearl-clutching is crucial to consider.
For instance, a MAGA supporter would consider Trump’s use of language as “telling it like it is”. Conversely, a staunch Democrat would condemn the ‘fuck’ as not diplomatic and unbecoming of a head of state.
The same divide happened in August 2022, when the mayor of Peterborough, Ontario, Dianne Therrien let out a colourful phrase when having to deal with QAnon conspiracy theorists in her city.
She tweeted: “Fuck off, you fuckwads.”
MAGA supporters were furious; Democrats defended Therrien, saying that she was reacting out of frustration, and backed her when she framed her swearing as a deliberate mirroring of the disrespect the QAnon crowd showed their critics.
Then there’s context.
Since Trump entered the White House for his second term, some Democrats have not shied away from expressing their genuine frustration.
This year, Rep. Jasmine Crockett reacted to Trump’s joint address to Congress with: “Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up because I’m ready to get on with it”, while Rep. Maxine Dexter had this to say: “I don’t swear in public very well, but we have to fuck Trump.” She hastily added: “Please don’t tell my children that I just did that.”
Whether it’s authentic outrage at the destruction of policies and public attitudes or a more shoot-from-the-hip moment of “real talk”, a ‘fuck’ in what can be considered as the wrong contextual condition can seem like a social gaffe. Worse, an inappropriate utterance that shows the politician – whether or not you agree with him / her / they – is overcome by frustration or emotion, and therefore doesn’t have the cool head to lead.
When considering the context of war with casualties, the ‘fuck’ in Trump’s “they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing” can be percieved as undiplomatic or even outright insulting.
But is it that clear cut, especially when even Trump critics admit that the president’s F-bomb flourished phrase was a pretty fair analysis of the situation?
What’s sure is that when it comes to language for public officials, a bar has been truly fucking lowered.
