Does Democratic VP candidate Walz swear too damn much?

Tim Walz said ‘damn’ four times while speaking at a union campaign event in Wayne, Mich., on Aug. 8, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images by Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis During a campaign event with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Michigan on Aug. 8, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, used the word “damn” four times during his brief remarks, including in two sentences in a row: “When you got a billion dollars, you don’t give a damn about your Social Security check. But if you’re like my mom and you depend on the Social Security check as your sole income, it’s pretty damn important,” he said. The following day, in Glendale, Arizona, Walz used the term eight more times. A day later, at a rally in Las Vegas, he made use of the expression an additional eight times. And in a social media post on Aug. 13, he declared that he was “damn proud” of his military service. These episodes clearly weren’t mistakes or momentary lapses in judgment. What was the vice presidential candidate trying to accomplish by repeatedly using a term that some people find offensive? I’m a cognitive scientist who studies and writes about language...