Trump A Vulgarian? Who Knew?

It turns out that the former and would-be-again President has a potty mouth.

The press is suddenly treating Donald Trump like a normal candidate for President.

AP (“Trump kicks off a Pennsylvania rally by talking about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia“):

Donald Trump’s campaign suggested he would begin previewing his closing argument Saturday night with Election Day barely two weeks away. But the former president kicked off his rally with a detailed story about Arnold Palmer, at one point even praising the late, legendary golfer’s genitalia.

Trump was campaigning in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer was born in 1929 and learned to golf from his father, who suffered from polio and was head pro and greenskeeper at the local country club.

Politicians saluting Palmer in his hometown is nothing new. But Trump spent 12 full minutes doing so at the top of his speech and even suggested how much more fun the night would be if Palmer, who died in 2016, could join him on stage.

“Arnold Palmer was all man, and I say that in all due respect to women,” Trump said. “This is a guy that was all man.”

Then he went even further.

“When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable,’” Trump said with a laugh. “I had to say. We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man.”

[…]

Trump praised the raucous crowd, which was outside and at an airport, but also made a point of suggesting that there was more conspicuous security around him following two assassination attempts, saying, “They give you a little extra security nowadays, you notice?”

“I got more machine guns than I’ve ever seen — look at these guys,” he said referring to security. He was interrupted by cries from the crowd of “USA! USA!” before continuing, “We’ve got more guys, and every one of them is like central casting too, holy s—.”

Then he tied it back to Latrobe’s native son, adding, “They look like Arnold. Can’t look better than Arnold.”

NYT (“At a Pennsylvania Rally, Trump Descends to New Levels of Vulgarity“):

Former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday spewed crude and vulgar remarks at a rally in Pennsylvania that included an off-color remark about a famous golfer’s penis size and a coarse insult about Vice President Kamala Harris.

The performance, 17 days before the election in a critical battleground state, added to the impression of the Republican nominee as increasingly unfiltered and undisciplined. It comes as some of Mr. Trump’s allies and aides worry that Mr. Trump’s temperament and crass style are alienating undecided voters.

It was unclear if the outbursts and insults were an expression of his frustration as the campaign grinds on or of his reflexive desire to entertain his crowds. At her own events on Saturday, Ms. Harris called attention to Mr. Trump’s temperament and his tendency to “go off script and ramble.”

Mr. Trump opened his speech at the airport in Latrobe, Pa., with 12 minutes of reminiscing about the golfer Arnold Palmer, who grew up in the Western Pennsylvania town and for whom the airport was named.

His monologue culminated in lewd remarks about the size of Mr. Palmer’s penis. Moments later, Mr. Trump gave the crowd an opportunity to call out a profanity. He went on to use that four-letter word to describe Ms. Harris.

“Such a horrible four years,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Biden-Harris administration, as he surveyed the crowd of hundreds of people in front of him. “We had a horrible — think of the — everything they touch turns to —.”

Many in his audience — which was mostly made up of adults but included some children, infants and teenagers — eagerly filled in the blank, shouting, “Shit!”

Minutes later, Mr. Trump urged his supporters to vote, telling them that they had to send a crude message to Ms. Harris: “We can’t stand you, you’re a shit vice president.”

What’s bizarre is that, while there’s clear evidence that Trump is indeed becoming less disciplined and more mentally unbalanced (his 39-minute dance routine as a recent example), this strikes me as pretty standard Trump fare. He’s been saying this kind of thing since 2015.

FILED UNDER: Open Forum, , , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. CSK says:

    As Sarah Longwell pointed out, Trump is suffering from “cocknitive decline.”

    11
  2. Moosebreath says:

    @CSK:

    That must be why he paid off Stormy Daniels again this summer.

    1
  3. just nutha says:

    47% of the voting pool will vote for him–for the tax cuts and the regulations bans. So they don’t have to share in the cost of running the nation. So that they can make the poor poorer now and make future generations pick up the tab later.

    And it’s not even just Trump. They’ll vote for any other reprobate who’ll do the same thing. The nation is broken. The vulgarity is just the pustule that lets us believe that when we drain it off, the infection is finished.

    7
  4. MarkedMan says:

    He’s been saying this kind of thing since 2015

    I think the cursing in front of the Cardinal indicates an increasing loss of control. He doesn’t seem to remember where he is anymore, and isn’t able to filter based on the audience.

    I was reading about the songwriter Randy Newman this morning and was reminded that in 2017 everyone was shocked (Shocked!) when he speculated about writing a song about Trump where he was bragging about the size of his dick. Essentially it was what he said about Arnold Palmer yesterday.

    5
  5. Charon says:

    Steve M. has the story:

    NMMNB

    SANEWASHING: DID THE NEW YORK TIMES INITIALLY CENSOR A REPORTER’S REFERENCE TO TRUMP’S DICK JOKE?

    You probably know already that Donald Trump had a moment of disinhibition yesterday while campaigning at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is named after one of the most successful golfers of the 1950s and 1960s:

    https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.bsky.social/post/3l6vjl2s2s22r

    video clip

    OMFG — “When he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said ‘oh my god. That’s unbelievable” — Trump says that when other golfers showered with Arnold Palmer they would marvel at how big his dick is

  6. charontwo says:

    The original NYT story was sanewashed, your post shows the revised version, see NMMNB link below!

    Steve M. has the story:

    NMMNB

    SANEWASHING: DID THE NEW YORK TIMES INITIALLY CENSOR A REPORTER’S REFERENCE TO TRUMP’S DICK JOKE?

    https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.bsky.social/post/3l6vjl2s2s22r

    video clip

    OMFG — “When he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said ‘oh my god. That’s unbelievable” — Trump says that when other golfers showered with Arnold Palmer they would marvel at how big his dick is

    2
  7. Not the IT Dept. says:

    @MarkedMan:

    I agree. In past years, when he was addressing a crowd, you could see him scanning the room, putting out lines to generate a response, doubling down when something went over big. Since the summer, when he addresses a crowd, he’s often just looking into space or closing his eyes. He’s not trying to tap into the crowd’s emotions. It’s quite noticeable, and if he had a normal family, I think they would have tried to stop him from going on for his own sake. Even Reagan in his decline had Nancy to man the battlements. All Trump has is a bunch of leeches afraid there’ll be nothing to inherit.

    6
  8. charontwo says:

    From my link above:

    When this happened, The New York Times published two brief reports from reporter Michael Gold on its campaign blog. Neither one made reference to Trump’s bizarrely inappropriate dick joke:

    A Times reader emailed Gold to complain about this sanewashing:

    Gold

    1
  9. Scott F. says:

    What’s bizarre is that, while there’s clear evidence that Trump is indeed becoming less disciplined and more mentally unbalanced…

    Yesterday, Obama said, “We do not need to see what an older, loonier Donald Trump looks like with no guardrails.”

    We must always emphasize, with no guardrails is what matters here.

    4
  10. charontwo says:

    @Scott F.

    Increasingly losing inhibitions is normal as dementia progresses.

    2
  11. Mikey says:

    One of the first symptoms of my late father’s frontotemporal dementia were the sort of inappropriate-for-the-situation statements Trump has recently started making. The disinhibition became more pronounced as the disease progressed, but it started out pretty much like what Trump is doing now.

    3
  12. Mikey says:

    @charontwo: Gold’s reply is exceptionally interesting:

    Can I suggest you email senioreditor -at- nytimes.com? I filed something that included the thing you mention as omitted, but I am not given the power to publish what I say. (emphasis added)

    That is pretty damning.

    3
  13. charontwo says:

    Heather Cox Richardson:

    Link

    A number of people telling me we all need a night off had almost convinced me not to write tonight.

    But then Trump spoke at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he told a long, meandering story about golfing legend Arnold Palmer that ended with praise for Palmer’s… anatomy.

    He went on to call Vice President Kamala Harris—whose name he deliberately mispronounced—“a sh*t vice president. The worst. You’re the worst vice president. Kamala, you’re fired. Get the hell out of here, you’re fired. Get out of here. Get the hell out of here, Kamala.”

    As Trump’s remarks got weirder and weirder, the Fox News Channel cut away and instead showed Harris being cheered at a packed, exuberant, super-charged rally in Georgia.

    Trump’s speech comes on top of his repeated backing out of interviews and his bizarre appearances. Last night, his advice to an audience in Detroit to vote took its own wild turn: “Jill, get your fat husband off the couch,” he said. “Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to go and vote for Trump, he’s going to save our country. Get that guy the hell off our— get him up, Jill, slap him around. Get him up. Get him up, Jill. We want him off the couch to get out and vote.”

    Trump’s performances over the past few days seem to confirm that the 2024 October surprise is the increasingly obvious mental incapacity of the Republican candidate for president.

    I have seen reporting elsewhere that when he called Harris a shit vice president, get out of here the rally crowd roared approval.
    That’s really bad stuff going on with such people, totally ok with anything he does, on board with it.

    2
  14. Mikey says:

    Whatever went on with Gold’s brief reports, he now has a full story up which is much better.

    Gift link:

    At a Pennsylvania Rally, Trump Descends to New Levels of Vulgarity

    Former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday spewed crude and vulgar remarks at a rally in Pennsylvania that included an off-color remark about a famous golfer’s penis size and a coarse insult about Vice President Kamala Harris.

    […]

    His monologue culminated in lewd remarks about the size of Mr. Palmer’s penis. Moments later, Mr. Trump gave the crowd an opportunity to call out a profanity. He went on to use that four-letter word to describe Ms. Harris.

    “Such a horrible four years,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Biden-Harris administration, as he surveyed the crowd of hundreds of people in front of him. “We had a horrible — think of the — everything they touch turns to —.”

    Many in his audience — which was mostly made up of adults but included some children, infants and teenagers — eagerly filled in the blank, shouting, “Shit!”

    1
  15. drj says:

    Stressing the vulgarity of Trump’s remarks is already sanewashing them.

    Didn’t anybody notice that this is a political rally where candidates typically promote their policy agendas?

    Imagine Harris talking about the “beautiful labia” of some local celebrity at one her events

    Her entourage would immediately contact a mental health service. And rightly so.

    6
  16. Kathy says:

    How big were Palmer’s hands?

    3
  17. Scott F. says:

    @charontwo:
    Dementia + delegation to JD Vance & Stephen Miller + Project 2024 + SCOTUS immunity = OMG

    The MAGA want this. But, surely(?) some of the Trump supporters from the tribalist, tax cuts & deregulation, and “cheaper gas” factions have got to be getting more nervous about the stakes. Nikki Haley, WTF are you thinking?

    6
  18. Scott F. says:

    @drj:

    Imagine Harris talking about the “beautiful labia” of some local celebrity at one her events

    Harris could use the word “labia” in the context of a science-focused address on the medical profession and elected GOPers & the MAGA lot would lose their sh!t. Never forget, as a woman of color, there are vast regions of rhetorical territory where Harris can’t go that don’t even approach the salacious or demented verbal vomit of The Donald.

    7
  19. Slugger says:

    Latrobe, PA, might be a good site to talk about unwelcome trends in industrial production. When I was young, I drank my fair share of Rolling Rock beer. This is not made in Latrobe anymore, and I think that this is bad. Not as exciting as a golfer’s genitalia but more important. Rolling Rock in Latrobe would make America great again.

    4
  20. Gustopher says:

    The dude is losing his filter both on foul language and fascist language.

  21. charontwo says:

    Beast

    Arnold, who died in 2016, would almost certainly have been insulted by Trump’s latest crass “locker room talk,” if his family is to be believed.

    His daughter told The Sporting News in 2018 that the golf legend, a conservative who was friendly with Dwight D. Eisenhower, was so incensed by what he saw as Trump’s lack of civility that he made noises of disgust when Trump appeared on the television.

    “My dad and I were at home in Latrobe,” said Palmer’s daughter Peg. “He died in September [2016], so this was before the election. The television was on. Trump was talking. And my dad made a sound of disgust—like ‘uck’ or ‘ugg’—like he couldn’t believe the arrogance and crudeness of this man who was the nominee of the political party that he believed in. Then he said, ‘He’s not as smart as we thought he was,’ and walked out of the room. What would my dad think of Donald Trump today? I think he’d cringe.”

    Peg told The Sporting News her father appreciated Trump’s support for the game of golf and participated in charity fundraisers and other events at Trump golf courses. But once Trump ran for office, she said, it became clear to him he wanted no part of Trump’s politics.

    “My dad had no patience for people who demean other people in public,” she added. “He had no patience for people who are dishonest and cheat. My dad was disciplined. He wanted to be a good role model. He was appalled by Trump’s lack of civility and what he began to see as Trump’s lack of character.”

    Maybe the guy is just insecure about his junk:

    Trump has been bringing penises into politics for some eight years now. In 2016, he defended his penis size after Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), an opponent in that year’s Republican primary, commented on Trump’s supposedly small hands, an insult that traces as far back as 1988 when Graydon Carter called him a “short-fingered vulgarian” in Spy magazine.

    While in office, he reportedly phoned then White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham to insist that his penis is not small or toadstool-shaped, as has been alleged by Trump’s alleged former mistress, porn star Stormy Daniels.

    1
  22. charontwo says:

    Beast

    Arnold, who died in 2016, would almost certainly have been insulted by Trump’s latest crass “locker room talk,” if his family is to be believed.

    His daughter told The Sporting News in 2018 that the golf legend, a conservative who was friendly with Dwight D. Eisenhower, was so incensed by what he saw as Trump’s lack of civility that he made noises of disgust when Trump appeared on the television.

    “My dad and I were at home in Latrobe,” said Palmer’s daughter Peg. “He died in September [2016], so this was before the election. The television was on. Trump was talking. And my dad made a sound of disgust—like ‘uck’ or ‘ugg’—like he couldn’t believe the arrogance and crudeness of this man who was the nominee of the political party that he believed in. Then he said, ‘He’s not as smart as we thought he was,’ and walked out of the room. What would my dad think of Donald Trump today? I think he’d cringe.”

    Peg told The Sporting News her father appreciated Trump’s support for the game of golf and participated in charity fundraisers and other events at Trump golf courses. But once Trump ran for office, she said, it became clear to him he wanted no part of Trump’s politics.

    “My dad had no patience for people who demean other people in public,” she added. “He had no patience for people who are dishonest and cheat. My dad was disciplined. He wanted to be a good role model. He was appalled by Trump’s lack of civility and what he began to see as Trump’s lack of character.”

    Maybe the guy is just insecure about his junk:

    Trump has been bringing penises into politics for some eight years now. In 2016, he defended his penis size after Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), an opponent in that year’s Republican primary, commented on Trump’s supposedly small hands, an insult that traces as far back as 1988 when Graydon Carter called him a “short-fingered vulgarian” in Spy magazine.

    While in office, he reportedly phoned then White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham to insist that his penis is not small or toadstool-shaped, as has been alleged by Trump’s alleged former mistress, porn star Stormy Daniels.

  23. charontwo says:

    Speaker Johnson has thoughts:

    Beast

    House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Donald Trump’s open admiration of genitalia belonging to the late American golf champion Arnold Palmer as being part of the “fun” he has at rallies.

    The pro-Trump congressman also claimed in his interview on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper that the former president’s long rants were proof that his “stamina” was still strong.

    In an opening question about the presidential race, Tapper referred to comments that Trump made hailing Palmer’s penis at a rally.

    “You’re working hard to get Republicans over the line of this election,” Tapper said. “You’re talking about substantive issues. This is really the closing message you want voters to hear from Donald Trump’s stories about Arnold Palmer’s penis?”

    “Well, listen, I think that the headline that I read about the rally in Pennsylvania yesterday was the big question,” Johnson replied, entirely avoiding Tapper’s question in a sign he was unable to speak about the thorny issue.

    “Let me say something: I don’t want to be talking about, right? Donald Trump is out there saying it,” Tapper snapped back.

    “I’ll address it,” Johnson retorted. “Okay, don’t say it again. We don’t have to say it. I get it. There’s lines in a rally. When President Trump’s is at a rally, sometimes he’ll speak for two straight hours. You’re questioning his stamina, his mental acuity. Joe Biden couldn’t do that for five minutes. That’s how you started this.”

    Johnson went on to defend the comment by saying that Trump often slips crude jokes into his speeches.

    “This is not working for the American people,” he said. “They want to change, and that’s what they see in Donald Trump. So he has fun at the rallies. He says things that are off the cuff. I’ve been in those events. I’ve been in those arenas, and people have a great time at those arenas. So you can cherry pick a, you know, a few words or lines out of a two hour event.

    “We can do that with Kamala Harris after a 20 minute event, because she does word salads, and she couldn’t, she couldn’t hold court like that without a teleprompter,” he added.

  24. DK says:

    He’s been saying this kind of thing since 2015.

    Yes, and this is also different.

    Senile Don’s uninhibited, demented, fascist ramblings are coming with increasing frequency.

    Trump cussing in front of Catholic clergy and then hours later rambling about the size of Arnold Palmer’s penis shows increasing psychological deterioration. The old orange man could well face a psychotic break in some years, if not sooner.

    If you had a dinner party and your grandfather started launching profanities or ranting about Arnold Palmer’s penis in front of guests, you’d escort him to bed then hide his keys. You wouldn’t give him nuclear codes.

    So is this Trump being Trump? Yes, but Trump’s verbal diarrhea is worse than ever. The lede is not just elderly Trump’s vulgarity. The lede is Trump is collapsing mentally: why he’s exhausted, canceling interviews, and zoning out at events.

    Rapist and felon Trump is unhealthy, unwell, and unfit. Dangerously so. A vote for Dementia Don is a vote for democracy-hating, billionaire immigrant Russian puppets — Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, and Peter Theil — to run the US via lightweight weirdo JD Vance.

    9
  25. charontwo says:

    @DK:

    I do not recall seeing anything that points to Murdoch being a Russia sympathiser.

    Musk obviously, given his pro-Russia meddling in the Ukraine war. So likely Thiel and Vance also, considering Vance support of Lance Wallnau’s “Courage Tour” (NAR stuff), given the clear pro-Russia tilt of super Christians like Mike Johnson and MTG.

  26. charontwo says:

    https://x.com/DanaHoule/status/1848093690633273717

    The owner of the Trump stunt McDonalds (Derek Giacomatonio) can afford to shut down for part of a day, but he opposed raising the PA minimum wage & opposed raising the salary an employer needs to pay for that worker to be exempt from overtime requirements https://irrc.state.pa.us/docs/3202/COMMENTS_PUBLIC/3202%2007-09-18%20FORM%20LETTER%20B%2041-50.pdf

    https://x.com/DanaHoule/status/1848094412683018527

    Here’s Giacomantonio being protested for not paying a fair wage

    I guess this should have been to the forum thread, my bad.

    4
  27. DrDaveT says:

    @just nutha:

    47% of the voting pool will vote for him–for the tax cuts and the regulations bans.

    See, I don’t think that’s the right analysis.

    30% will vote for him because they (incorrectly) think he’ll make stuff cheaper for them.
    20% will vote for him because they think he’ll keep the brown people out.
    20% will vote for him because he’ll put women and gays in their place.
    10% will vote for him because he’ll appoint more pocket SCOTUS justices
    2% will vote for him because he will protect the wealth of the would-be oligarchs

    After accounting for overlap in those categories, that gets you 47%.

  28. DrDaveT says:

    @Slugger:

    When I was young, I drank my fair share of Rolling Rock beer.

    It’s hard to remember, sometimes, that in my youth Rolling Rock, Yuengling, Genesee, etc. were significantly better than the average American beer. Today, every town has at least one brewpub that makes seven different beers that are better than any domestic beer you could buy in 1975.

    6
  29. Gustopher says:

    @charontwo:

    Arnold, who died in 2016, would almost certainly have been insulted by Trump’s latest crass “locker room talk,” if his family is to be believed.

    His daughter told The Sporting News in 2018 that the golf legend, a conservative who was friendly with Dwight D. Eisenhower, was so incensed by what he saw as Trump’s lack of civility that he made noises of disgust when Trump appeared on the television.

    Perhaps his disgust was that Trump was not talking about his penis size. Some kind of “look at that tiny handed vulgarian. If he knew anything he wouldn’t be criticizing Marco Rubio for having small hands and a small penis, he would be praising my Trouser Trunk.”

  30. just nutha says:

    @DrDaveT: Split it up whatever way you want. 47% is 47% and their motivations don’t change what they’re voting for. The effects are the same no matter what.

  31. DK says:

    @charontwo:

    I do not recall seeing anything that points to Murdoch being a Russia sympathiser.

    Murdoch employed and amplified Tucker Carlson while Carlson spewed Putin’s propaganda to millions nightly, and Murdoch is trying to help Trump become president of the United States. These alone smells like Russian opp to me:

    Russian state-controlled television networks beamed Carlson’s monologue into living rooms across the country to show that pro-Kremlin talking points are being corroborated in the US media, while pivoting on the Fox News anchor’s words to attack President Biden, Ukraine and NATO.

    And then there’s this:

    Rupert Murdoch’s new Russian-born fiancée brings him closer to Putin’s orbit

    Murdoch’s new wife’s ex-husband Alexander Zhukov and former son-in-law Roman Abramovich are both prominent Russian oligarchs in Putin’s orbit.

    3
  32. Ken_L says:

    “Grab ’em by the pussy” … “bleeding from her wherever” … James is 100% correct that there is nothing new about Trump engaging in crude vulgarities like a college jock. He thinks “locker room talk” is manly.

    2
  33. charontwo says:

    @Ken_L:

    My experience of locker rooms differs. I don’t play golf though.