It's the Brian Lairn Show on WNYC.

I'm Bridget Bergen filling in for Brian today.

And to end the show today, we turn to profanity.

Specifically, profanity in politics. Back in January of 2018,

President Donald Trump, while discussing immigration protections for people from Haiti, El Salvador,

and African nations with a bipartisan group of senators in the Oval Office, referred to those

nations as

s-whole countries. And it seems as though there's been an increasing use of swear words

among politicians on both sides of the aisle ever since. Back in October, the Atlantic's Tom

Nichols wrote about the recent use of curse words coming from Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Marjorie Taylor Green over the fight for health care.

But there are many more recent examples of politicians using profanity.

On Wednesday, President Trump raised his middle finger and appeared to direct profanity toward a Michigan auto plant worker who criticized him.

And last week, in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer,

the Minneapolis mayor Jacob Fry had this to say.

To ICE, get the f*** out of Minneapolis.

Tom Nichols is staff writer at the Atlantic and a contributor to the Atlantic Daily Newsletter,

Professor Emeritus of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School.

In an article in October, he wrote, quote, elected officials cursing is a spreading epidemic and it has to stop.

And he joins us now to discuss, Tom.

Welcome back to WNYC.

Great to be back.

Thanks for having me.

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