Earlier this month, 22 Senate Democrats simultaneously released TikTok videos in which they read the exact same script, verbatim, blaming Donald Trump for the increase in egg prices. The script began with the jarring sentence, “s***t that ain’t true.”
Democrats were roundly mocked online for this stunt, which became emblematic of the party’s struggles to appear authentic and genuine to everyday voters. But it also highlighted another puzzling and cringe-worthy trend emerging among liberal politicians – a growing swearing epidemic.
Of course, American politics has never been very “PG.” Behind the scenes, Capitol Hill has long been known for notoriously foul-mouthed staffers and legislators. President Lyndon Johnson was famous for being a “particularly creative curser.”
Skillful politicians – President Donald Trump included – have also publicly deployed a swear word here and there for dramatic effect. When done tastefully, it’s a powerful rhetorical tool to bring home an important point.
But Democrats’ increasingly frequent expletive-laden outbursts feel more like a desperate cry for attention from politicians struggling to stay relevant.
A recent article from Politico titled “Frustrated Dems unleash the F-bombs” captures the swearing epidemic sweeping the party. “The breadth of swearing is unmistakable, newly fashionable among members of a party in the wilderness who are looking for shortcuts to authenticity to channel voters’ rage,” the outlet notes.
Undoubtedly the worst offender is Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Following President Trump’s joint address on March 4, Crockett publicly stated: “Somebody slap me and wake me the f*** up because I’m ready to get on with it.” A few days before that, when a reporter asked her what her message was to Elon Musk, she responded, “F*** off.”
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona also got in on the fun in recent days, saying that he wanted the “intern” at the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee who posted “racist s***” on X fired. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, meanwhile, recently stated that the “stock market is down but at least everything is more expensive and services are getting s***tier.”
Undoubtedly the worst swearing attempt came from Representative Maxine Dexter of Oregon who, after acknowledging “I don’t swear in public very well,” declared “we have to f*** Trump.” The comment, which came during a union rally protesting DOGE cuts, clearly confused the onlookers.
“Please don’t tell my children that I just did that,” Dexter awkwardly added.
Even some Democrat operatives are shaking their heads at the cursing bonanza. “Some of it is genuine, some of it is people trying to seem faux-edgy authentic,” Democrat adviser Lis Smith – herself a famous swearer – told Politico. “If the first time you’ve used a cuss word in public is reading off a script, it’s probably not authentic and not something you should do.”
But Democrats’ cringe-worthy swearing isn’t the only recent example of the party’s mounting inability to connect with everyday Americans. Some congressional Democrats have also begun posting and reposting a series of TikToks to appeal to younger audiences that have only earned them more mockery and scorn.
One of the most laughable was a “choose your fighter” video that portrayed several Democrat female representatives as characters in a video game. This particular TikTok trend went viral over a year ago, so Democrats were late to the party to begin with. Even friendly CNN host Abby Phillip said, “I don’t get it. Like, I don’t get it. I mean, maybe you will get seven million eyeballs, but, like, what is the point?”
Shortly after that, 82-year-old Democrat Representative Rosa DeLauro posted a lengthy TikTok cramming in as many Gen Alpha slang terms as possible in which she referred to herself as the “ranking rizzler on Appropriations.” DeLauro also stated that “Democrats are making life smoother through government funding. It’s giving skibidi,” and “So sigma, main character energy” and “Eliminating the Department of Education? Negative aura points. Basically, the biggest fanum tax on the environment, education, your rights.”
One can only assume that DeLauro was just as clueless about what she was saying as the vast majority of people who saw her video.
While Democrats are apparently willing to try any messaging strategy to break through with the public, the one thing they have thus far refused to do is moderate their far-left policies that alienated voters in the first place.
CNN commentator Scott Jennings recently suggested that President Trump’s “superpower” is “finding a bunch of 80-20 issues, getting on the 80, and everybody who’s sort of reflexively against him gets on the 20.” That’s why, Jennings said, the Democrat Party’s approval rating has been plummeting.
Indeed, issues like cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in government and keeping men out of women’s sports have strong support among the American people. Democrats can swear up a storm and film all the TikTok videos they want, but until they align with the American people on policy, they will continue to lose elections and embarrass themselves.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
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