Remember when elected officials and their spokespersons wouldn't dare talk like this in public? [View all]

Remember the shock when GHW Bush called Clinton & Gore Bozos? Or when the Nixon tapes revealed he said "hell" & "damn" in private conversations in the Oval office? Now Trump uses the F word and says "sh-t " frequently in public speeches, and his press secretary and one of his aides respond to press questions with "your mom" insults. Talk about lowering the level of discourse!

Do political science profs have to explain to their students that, for most of American history, it was actually borderline unthinkable that elected officials and their spokespersons would constantly talk like trashy reality show contestants?

— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) 2025-11-14T01:29:16.395Z