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Top 16 foul-mouthed politicians

By Ed Hornick, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Politicians throughout U.S. history have used less-than-flattering words
  • Rahm Emanuel is known to frequently use the f-word
  • Sen. John McCain once told another Republican senator, "f--- you"

Washington (CNN) -- F#&$. S%&!. A@$.

Not quite the language you'd expect from U.S. politicians. But that's never stopped them from expressing themselves, in private and in public, as we saw during a recent speech by Donald Trump to supporters in Las Vegas.

Here's a look at politicians who have let their true feelings shine over the years through their own brand of colorful language:

President Barack Obama

2010: The BP oil spill took an emotional toll on everyone -- from those living along the Gulf of Mexico to politicians in Washington.

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President Obama was not immune.

In a June 8, 2010, NBC "Today" show interview, Obama said, "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose a-- to kick."

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Vice President Joe Biden

2010: Known for his blunt talk, Vice President Joe Biden was heard telling Obama "this is a big f------ deal" during the March 23, 2010, signing of the health care reform bill. While he was whispering into the president's ear, the profanity was picked up by nearby microphones.

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Vice President Dick Cheney

2004: Tensions are nothing new on the Senate floor. But an incident between Vice President Dick Cheney and a Democratic senator took it to another level.

Cheney told Sen. Patrick Leahy on June 24, 2004, to "go f--- yourself" when the Vermont Democrat blasted Halliburton's role in Iraq.

Halliburton, as you may recall, was once under the helm of Cheney, who was chairman and CEO of the company.

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Donald Trump

2011: Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and potential presidential candidate, gave a profanity-laced speech to Republican supporters in Las Vegas on Thursday night.

"They (OPEC) want to go in and raise the price of oil because we have nobody in Washington that sits back and says you're not going to raise that f------ price, you understand me?" he said.

And when it came to Iraq, Trump said, "We build a school, we build a road. They blow up the road. They blow up the school. We build another school, we build another road, they blow them up. We build again, in the meantime we can't get a f------ school built in Brooklyn."

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Sen. John Kerry

2004: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, running in a brutal 2004 presidential race against incumbent President George W. Bush, dropped the f-bomb in an interview in the November 11, 2004, edition of Rolling Stone magazine.

"I voted for what I thought was best for the country. ... Did I expect George Bush to f--- it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did," Kerry said, referring to his vote allowing the U.S. to use military force in Iraq.

Kerry also made news during the campaign when he reportedly called his Secret Service agent a "son of a bitch."

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George W. Bush

2000: Then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, running in the 2000 presidential race, was caught on a live microphone tearing into New York Times reporter Adam Clymer. At a Labor Day 2000 rally in Naperville, Illinois, Bush called him a "major-league a--hole."


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President Jimmy Carter

1980: The relationship between former President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy was sometimes less than friendly.

Time magazine reports that Carter told a group of congressmen in 1979 that if Kennedy ran against him in the 1980 presidential race, "I'll whip his a--."

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Rahm Emanuel

1998, 2010, etc.: Where to begin?

Then-White House aide Emanuel warned Prime Minister Tony Blair, "don't f--- it up," referring to the British leader's February 5, 1998, visit to the White House, according to Foreign Policy magazine's Passport blog.

The meeting came during the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Later, as Obama's chief of staff, Emanuel allegedly once said "F--- the UAW." The comment was featured in former White House car czar Steven Rattner's 2010 book "Overhaul." The White House pushed back against the claim.

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Bill and Hillary Clinton

While President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton were not known to have cursed publicly, numerous accounts from White House insiders over the years tell a different story -- that both often using the f-word in conversations and arguments inside and outside the White House.

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President Harry S. Truman

1960s: In a December 3, 1973, article in Time magazine, Truman reportedly said in the early 1960s that he fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur "because he wouldn't respect the authority of the president."

"I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail."

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President Richard Nixon

1972, 1973: The December 12, 2010, release of new Nixon Oval Office audiotapes shed light on the mind of the disgraced former president. The Washington Post reported that in on a February 13, 1973, taped conversation, Nixon railed against Jews, Italians and the Irish, among others.

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"The Jews have certain traits. The Irish have certain -- for example, the Irish can't drink. ... The Italians, of course, just don't have their heads screwed on tight. They are wonderful people, but. ... The Jews are just a very aggressive and abrasive and obnoxious personality."

On an April 18, 1972, recording, Nixon, discussing National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger's meeting with Ivy League college presidents concerning Vietnam, told Kissinger: "The Ivy League presidents? Oh, I won't let those sons of bitches ever in this White House again. Never. Never. None of them. They're finished. The Ivy League schools are finished."

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Sen. John McCain

2007: McCain's temper is nothing new to those who know the Arizona senator.

And that anger especially came out in a May 17, 2007, meeting on immigration, according to The Washington Post.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was none too happy when McCain showed up late, saying, "wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations, and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line."

McCain shot back, "F--- you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."

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New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer

2007: According to the New York Post, then governor (and current CNN host) Spitzer told Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco in late January 2007: "Listen, I'm a f-----g steamroller, and I'll roll over you and anybody else."

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Chicago Mayor Richard Daley

1967: Daley mouthed "F--- you, Abe" during Abraham Ribicoff's speech at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention, according to the New York Daily News.

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President Lyndon B. Johnson

1965: In a discussion about Cyprus in 1965, Johnson reportedly told Greek Ambassador Alexandros Matsas, "f--- your parliament and your constitution."

He continued: "America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If these two fellows continue itching the elephant, they may just get whacked by the elephant's trunk, whacked good."

CNN's Gabriella Schwarz contributed to this report.