Soon after a news conference by former President Donald J. Trump on his civil fraud case, a Biden campaign social media account shared a clip accusing him of considering foreign government money to pay a $175 million bond.
In the realm of political campaigns, it’s common for Mr. Trump’s team to accuse their opponents of misinterpreting their candidate’s statements.
However, what set this particular exchange apart was the language used.
In response, a Trump campaign social media account called Trump War Room, fired back on X with, “Wrong, you dipshit. He said he’ll pay with cash, securities, or bonds.”
The Trump War Room account, part of the campaign’s rapid response efforts on social media, often shares clips from Mr. Trump’s speeches or from campaign surrogates’ remarks. It also frequently criticizes President Biden and the media, as well as attacked Mr. Trump’s Republican rivals harshly during the primary.
Engaging in campaign mudslinging is a longstanding political tradition. However, the use of expletives by official campaign mouthpieces to address each other mirrors the coarsening of political discourse that has accompanied Mr. Trump’s ascent and characterizes the 2024 presidential campaign.
At recent rallies, Mr. Trump has employed similar profanity to criticize Mr. Biden and various Democrats. For example, during a rally in Georgia earlier this month, Mr. Trump likened everything Mr. Biden touched to bull droppings, using an expletive that he acknowledged might be considered inappropriate.
Mr. Trump revels in a confrontational style of politics, often using incendiary language. His campaign aides echo his rhetoric by issuing statements that personally attack Mr. Trump’s opponents or use derogatory terms to refer to them.
As Mr. Biden campaigns for re-election, his campaign has demonstrated an aggressive approach, especially on social media where they criticize Mr. Trump over his statements and behavior. On Monday, the Biden campaign responded to the Trump campaign’s use of profanity with a mocking meme.
Both candidates on the campaign trail exchange criticisms about each other, often questioning their suitability for the presidency.
While Mr. Biden has occasionally made headlines for using strong language, Mr. Trump has been more public in his use of vulgarities since his first campaign in 2015.
Mr. Trump, known for breaking norms and challenging the political establishment, continues to do so as he criticizes his opponents and dismisses the four criminal cases he faces.
During rallies, Mr. Trump often dismisses the 91 felony charges against him as “bullshit,” prompting his crowds to chant the word in unison.
The social media back-and-forth on Monday followed a hearing in Mr. Trump’s case in Manhattan, related to hush money paid to a porn star. The same day, an appeals court reduced a bond that Mr. Trump must secure while appealing a nearly half-billion-dollar judgment in the civil fraud case.
Mr. Trump had mentioned securing the bond with “cash or bond or security or whatever is necessary” before being asked at a news conference about accepting foreign government money to pay the bond.
During his time as president, Mr. Trump did not relinquish control of his global business or cease foreign business dealings. He has repeatedly accused Mr. Biden of accepting millions from foreign countries, although no evidence has supported this claim.
On Monday, Mr. Trump stated he did not intend to use foreign funds to pay the bond but acknowledged that it might be possible.
“No, I don’t do that,” Mr. Trump remarked. “I think you’d be allowed to, possibly. I don’t know. I mean, if you go borrow from a big bank, many of the banks are outside — as you know, the biggest banks, frankly, are outside of our country. So you could do that. But I don’t need to borrow money.”
