# NY Times crosses a line today (fucked). **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792 "2019-04-19T21:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/1 "2019-04-19T21:01:52Z")
Our local paper quoted Trump as having said he was f\*\*ked. Not the Times. They used the fulbtw.l word in an editorial today and also in a news story. I wonder whether that was a special exception or will now be considered acceptable. The New Yorker crossed that line at least a decade ago. This was the print edition ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/2 "2019-04-19T21:22:31Z")
I’m presuming you’re referring to the article about the Mueller probe. Therefore, it was a quote that 46-1 made; not their ‘own’ language. > [@NYTimes](#): > > When Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Mr. Trump that a special counsel had been appointed in May 2017, Mr. Trump grew angry: “I’m fucked,” he said, believing his presidency was ruined. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/3 "2019-04-19T21:40:50Z")
It is news. Trump and the report crossed the line, not the Times. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/4 "2019-04-19T21:43:52Z")
This isn’t the first time that “fuck” has appeared in print in the Times. They did it in 2016, as well, once again while quoting the president. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/5 "2019-04-19T21:53:00Z")
I was wondering something similar about last nights Twitter dump. Since RealDonaldTrump has been ruled an official venue of government communication, is this the first time the word “Bullshit” has been used by a President in an official capacity? > [@](#): > > …agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the “Report” about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad). This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/6 "2019-04-19T22:15:50Z")
> [@RadioWave](#): > > I was wondering something similar about last nights Twitter dump. Since RealDonaldTrump has been ruled an official venue of government communication, is this the first time the word “Bullshit” has been used by a President in an official capacity? I’m pretty sure that it is. And IMHO the impact is substantial and speaks volumes about this presidency. On one hand language like that demeans the presidency and the gravitas of the office from which it gleans its moral authority, which is why no other president ever talked like that. On the other hand, for someone who couldn’t care less about such things, it’s an effective device for creating a kind of bond with the common man, a “just like me” persona long used by crooks and con-men to persuade their marks that they’re just like them and have their interests in mind. It really works, because instead of coming across as a remote statesmanlike figure, he comes across as a working-class drinking buddy. Unfortunately, that’s also how he comes across to world leaders who tend to be somewhat more astute. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/7 "2019-04-19T22:21:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > On one hand language like that demeans the presidency and the gravitas of the office from which it gleans its moral authority, which is why no other president ever talked like that. Truman, Johnson, Nixon and others certainly talked like that. The difference is that they didn’t put it in writing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/8 "2019-04-19T22:30:00Z")
CNN did not censor the word “shithole” after Da Dumpster used that word in reference to some countries. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/9 "2019-04-19T22:47:19Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Truman, Johnson, Nixon and others certainly talked like that. The difference is that they didn’t put it in writing. I don’t think the “in writing” part is significant; what’s unprecedented here is talking like that in the context of official public statements. Johnson and Nixon certainly had foul mouths in private. It should surprise no one that presidents are just people and many may talk that way in private. Talking that way in official public statements, however, changes the fundamental norms of national discourse. Trump’s followers love it, of course, and it’s another example of Trump putting self before country, which is pretty much his _modus operandi_. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/10 "2019-04-20T05:42:57Z")
The Times doesn’t use asterisks to censor expletives. They have a high bar, but once they decide the word is newsworthy, they [print the whole thing](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4197): > [@](#): > > The Times also forgoes offensive or coy hints. An article should not seem to be saying, “Look, I want to use this word, but they won’t let me.” Generally that principle rules out telltale strings of hyphens or dashes. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/11 "2019-04-20T06:37:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > It is news. Trump and the report crossed the line, not the Times. Crossed the line into ‘Reality’? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/12 "2019-04-20T06:58:45Z")
Wow…you’re horrified at the idea that the paper didn’t censor the word “fucked”? Seriously? Of all the crap that’s going on in the world, of all the things I read in the paper, that’s the LEAST thing I find offensive. (And like putting two astericks makes a difference?) Seriously, no wonder other nations point and laugh at us. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/13 "2019-04-20T07:34:48Z")
You all seem to be forgetting that Obama once wore a tan suit. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/14 "2019-04-20T14:17:43Z")
i haven’t seen a word of criticism for the _Times_ here – where are you getting “horrified”? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/15 "2019-04-20T14:38:27Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You all seem to be forgetting that Obama once wore a tan suit. Out of curiosity, did the Times report on Obama calling Kanye West a “jackass”? Does the Times’s rule on profanity extend to racial slurs? If/when we get Trump dropping an N bomb on tape, I wonder if the Times will print it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/16 "2019-04-20T15:14:08Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wow…you’re horrified at the idea that the paper didn’t censor the word “fucked”? Seriously? I’m not the OP, but it’s certainly possible to be surprised without being horrified. I can remember when certain words were “unprintable,” and a highly-respected mainstream newspaper would not have printed them—even if they were newsworthy quotes, they would be rendered as “f\*\*\*” or “expletive deleted.” And it’s reasonable to wonder when that changed—when the line was crossed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/17 "2019-04-20T15:24:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You all seem to be forgetting that Obama once wore a tan suit. :mad: #NeverForget :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/18 "2019-04-20T16:17:48Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > :mad: #NeverForget :mad: To be fair, it was kind of an ugly suit and tie combo. And I think the jacket was a little big on him. I have a suit about that same color. I like it with a tie with more burgundy in it. He looked pretty awesome here though: [https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/19/19-barack-obama-tan-suit.w700.h700.jpg](https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/19/19-barack-obama-tan-suit.w700.h700.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/19 "2019-04-20T16:30:25Z")
Surely he was misquoted. After all, a good Christian man, chosen by God to be President couldn’t possibly have such a potty mouth. For the humor impaired - yes, that was sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792/20 "2019-04-20T16:36:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wow…you’re horrified at the idea that the paper didn’t censor the word “fucked”? Seriously? What thread are you reading? No one has said that at all. Some people have expressed objections to the President’s use of language in an official capacity. As far as I can see, no one has objected to the Times printing the word, just remarked that it is notable for a newspaper of record. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-times-crosses-a-line-today-fucked/832792.md?page=2)