Trump base is fired up but etiquette gurus are worried

boston — From Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon through Barack Obama, Americans have gotten used to the idea of their presidents using profanity, but Donald Trump’s use of the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and Africa this week sparked a storm of protest.

The countries offended condemned the outburst and human rights groups labeled the comment racist.

But supporters of the former businessman and reality TV star erupted in applause. “Finally a president that says what we all think! You go @POTUS! #ShitholeCountries #shithole #America1st,” tweeted Marco Gutierrez, a Trump supporter and Congressional candidate from California.

Conservative blogger Stacy Rush dismissed criticism of Trump’s language as pitiful and a distraction from the bigger picture: “It is pathetic our country and particularly the MSM (mainstream media) is wasting time on the word #shithole when we have real issues that need to be addressed.”

But many from the worlds of diplomacy, academia and even etiquette experts cringed.

It is pathetic our country and particularly the MSM (mainstream media) is wasting time on the word #shithole when we have real issues that need to be addressed.” Stacy Rush, a Conservative blogger

“The reality is that when you have to resort to it, it does send a message of insecurity,” said Diane Gottsman, author of Modern Etiquette for a Better Life, who advises against using profanity in either professional or social settings.

In the 1960s Lyndon Johnson raised eyebrows by saying that, in politics, “chicken shit can turn to chicken salad.” Experts said the public were shocked by the profanity-laced Nixon tapes, and that people are less sensitive now. “People have become accustomed to the idea that presidents swear,” said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor who studies the presidency. —