According to Bob Woodward's assertions, Joe Biden has a propensity for frequent swearing, while Trump reportedly extended a kindness to Putin.
Among the most renowned occasions in the president's extensive career in the public eye was during the signing ceremony for the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Here, as heard through a hot mic, Vice President Biden at the time alleged that overhauling the nation's healthcare laws was a significant matter, a major deal. Yet, Biden did not utilize the acronym.
What many may not recognize - as shown in CNN's report on a forthcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward - is that Biden is known to use strong language, much like a sailor.
There are several notable insights in the book, which CNN's Jamie Gangel, Jeremy Herb, and Elizabeth Stuart gained before its publication next week.
Explore their complete report, detailing a variety of tales, including the Saudi crown prince's collection of burner phones and Biden's remorse over selecting Merrick Garland as his attorney general.
Woodward, who has penned behind-the-scenes reports of each recent president, including multiple books about Trump, based this account concentrated on the Biden administration on numerous hours of interviews. Many of these interviews, conducted by a journalist who engaged with "Deep Throat" during the Watergate era, are presented without attribution.
Comparing Woodward's portrayal of these politicians in private conversations, reportedly filled with salty language, to their public appearances can be an intriguing exercise.
Trump and Putin
In public, Trump has declared that he had a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Putin deferred to him following Trump's warning against invading Ukraine.
During their conversation on X earlier this year, Trump described their friendship in this manner:
Trump emphasized that getting along well with authoritarian world leaders is beneficial.
The unspoken details in Woodward's book offer some context to how Trump interacts with global leaders. There is no evidence in the passage described in CNN's report of Trump reprimanding Putin.
Instead, Trump sends Putin COVID-19 testing equipment, which were in short supply for Americans, at the time. Putin, apparently attempting to protect Trump, advises him not to reveal the gift to anyone.
“No, no,” Putin reportedly said, as cited in Woodward's book. “I don’t want you to tell anyone because people will be upset at you, not me. They don’t care about me.”
Woodward also claims, based on an anonymous Trump aide's account, that Trump and Putin have maintained their relationship and spoken on the phone potentially as many as seven times since Trump left office in early 2021. Trump's campaign denies this report.
Biden and Harris with Netanyahu
The Biden administration has sought to preserve its support for Israel while also expressing professional discontent with Israel's leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, privately.
In response to a query about Netanyahu during an interview on “60 Minutes”, Vice President Kamara Harris, the Democratic party's presidential nominee for the November election, did not explicitly criticize Netanyahu in her response, but she did maintain a distance from him.
“I think, respectfully, a more fitting question would be: Does the American people have a significant alliance with the Israeli people?” Harris said. “And the answer to that question is yes.”
Expletives Aplenty
The candid perspective at the White House is marked by numerous expletives, according to Woodward's book.
Biden described Netanyahu as a "not so nice guy," before repeating the phrase with a strong expletive. The president also used the expletive when, in private, he called Netanyahu a liar. In addition, Biden used this language during a phone conversation with Netanyahu following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut in July.
“What the f**k,” Biden reportedly said to Netanyahu, in Woodward's narrative.
Woodward also recounts Biden using abhorrent language to describe Trump: “that f**king a**hole.”
Former President George W. Bush is recorded as expressing sympathy with Biden over the president's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and using a strong expletive to lament the mistreatment by his “intel people.” This presumably refers to the incorrect intelligence used by Bush's administration to promote an invasion of Iraq to the United Nations and the American people.
Ironically, Woodward's account sheds new light on the US intelligence community's latest success in penetrating the Kremlin's war plans for Ukraine, seemingly through a human source. The intelligence proved accurate, but the Biden administration was unable to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of its veracity, even when Harris argued the case in person at a conference in Munich.
In private, Biden acknowledged that Obama had neglected to treat Putin with the necessary respect and that the administration, in which Biden was a member, "f**ked up" when Putin claimed Crimea in 2014.
The new book also includes an anecdote in which Harris is said to have displayed her proficiency in using profanity.
Most people adjust their speech when they are aware they are in public. Somehow, Woodward manages to reveal this private language in a very public manner.
The use of strong language in private conversations among political leaders is not uncommon, as shown in Bob Woodward's forthcoming book. For instance, Vice President Biden is reportedly known to use expletives when describing Netanyahu, calling him a "not so nice guy" and a liar.
In the context of politics, language can often reflect the intensity of feelings and sentiments, even if it's not suitable for public consumption.
