Swearing by Trump

An interesting little detail from Donald Trump’s rally in Greenville was the fact that during his speech, Trump twice said the word “goddamn”. 

That may not seem like a big deal, but in the Southern Baptist household I grew up in, one of the worse things you do was take the Lord’s name in vain. I remember as a boy admonishing a friend who had said “Goddamn”, telling him that he would go to hell talking that way. Once a family member called me out for saying “Mein Gott” (“My God” in German – I was showing off.) This was long before “Oh my God” became such a ubiquitous expression that no one bats an eye. OMG.

Anyway, surely most presidents have used “goddamn” frequently enough, at least in private. They are, after all, men of the world. There are tapes of Nixon doing so. LBJ for sure. Obama likely. Jimmy Carter might be the only exception. I can’t imagine him doing it. 

But Trump is no doubt the first US president to utter that blasphemous word in public. You can be sure Obama never did. And if you ask me, it’s about goddamn time. Trump is just talking the way grown people talk, saying what he thinks, no holds barred. He's not afraid to tell it like it is, without worrying about offending someone’s tender sensitivities. Just imagine politically correct Obama throwing out a "goddamn" here and a "goddamn" there! No goddamned way!

As someone who says goddamnit a lot myself, I find it refreshing that Trump has now, in a sense, given license for the rest of us to feel comfortable enough swearing in public. I’m sure all his followers, from Franklin Graham to Lindsey Graham (and any other Grahams in between), fully agree. Goddamn right!