Kamala Harris is known to curse freely behind closed doors, the Washington Post reported Friday — but she's biting her tongue at rallies because she believes she's under a level of behavioral scrutiny as a woman that male politicians would not receive.
"Known to swear liberally behind closed doors, a practice she has said ramped up after she became vice president, Harris has used profanity both to express outrage and to create a sense of intimacy with her private audiences, according to aides and allies," the report stated.
But "as Harris aims to become the first woman of color to ascend to the presidency, her public commentary is likely to be more heavily scrutinized than the men who have held the office," according to historians consulted by the Post.
Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have cursed without abandon on and off the campaign trail, from "grab them by the p---y" on the Access Hollywood tape, to the crude meaning behind the "Let's Go Brandon" chants.
Harris' own surrogates have also cursed freely, with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro introducing her at a rally with his motto of "G-S-D" (Get S--t Done), and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer dropping the F-word in her speech.
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Harris, by contrast, has kept her own language tame, at times catching herself, including when she said of the pro-Trump Project 2025 agenda, “Can you believe they actually put that … in writing? I know there are kids here, so I’ll delete some words.”
While it has been common historically for presidents to curse in the White House — including, famously, President Joe Biden — Harris' run to be the first woman of color in America's highest office subjects her to new pressures, said presidential historian Tevi Troy.
“There’s the question of whether it’s appropriate for a president to be cussing. Then there’s the second question of whether it’s considered ladylike to be cussing. So she’s operating in both spheres, and we’re in uncharted territory.”
Meanwhile, when she is talking privately, including with reporters, Harris lets her real speaking style fly — as the report noted, when she sat for an interview with Rolling Stone, she had this to say about the end of Roe v. Wade: “I called my husband, Doug — because, you know, I could use words with him. And I was just like, `Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Can you believe what they did?’”
