Biden is a prolific swearer but always apologises in front of women, report says

Some politicians are known for their aversion to foul language, but Joe Biden isn’t one of them.

According to a new report the Politico newsletter West Wing Playbook, the 45^th President of the United States is — at least in private — quite partial to a certain four-letter word that is often (incorrectly) said to have originated as an acronym for “Fornication Under Command of King”.

Some of the choice phrases which Mr Biden reportedly employs in times of frustration are: “F*ck them,” “What the f*ck are we doing?” “Why the f*ck isn’t this happening?” or just simply: “f*ck,” current and former Biden aides told Politico.

Also making appearances in Mr Biden’s mature-audiences-only vocabulary are the slightly less risqué “dammit” and “bulls**t,” with the latter reportedly being used to press aides for information, as in “don’t bulls**t a bulls**ter”.

“When he gets going, he definitely gets going,” one White House aide said. But another source told Politico that Mr Biden “always” makes sure to apologize when he curses in the presence of a woman.

“He’s from a different generation but if there’s people that are younger than him, especially women, he feels like, ‘Hey, how would I feel if I was cussing around my daughter or my granddaughter?’” said another former aide. “You don’t cuss in front of women and children”.

Such language is nothing new for Mr Biden, who in 2010 was famously caught on a live microphone telling then-President Barack Obama that the newly-passed Affordable Care Act health care law was “a big f*cking deal”.

Vice President Kamala Harris, however, has taken a slightly different tack from Mr Biden when it comes to her choice of profanities.

Ms Harris, Politico reports, prefers to use the colloquialism most famously associated with actor Samuel L Jackson.

Neither Mr Biden nor Ms Harris is unique in their use of profanity in the halls of the White House, however.

One previous Oval Office occupant — 37^th President Richard Nixon — was frequently caught using profanities such as “c**ks**ker” by the secret White House taping system which undid his presidency.

So too was his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, who according to biographer Robert Caro’s Means of Ascent,once told a staffer: “I want real loyalty. I want someone who will kiss my a** in Macy’s window, and say it smells like roses”.