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    NPR's Approach To A Reported Presidential Profanity Evolves

    First NPR didn't use "the word," and then it did, as it tried to focus on the underlying story.
    by Elizabeth Jensen Jan 12, 2018 5 minutes
    President Donald Trump presides over a meeting about immigration with Republican and Democrat members of Congress, including (L-R) Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ), Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) at the White House on Tuesday.

    Note to readers: this post uses profanity that may offend some.

    First NPR didn't use "the word" and then it did. I'm referring, of course, to the vulgar slur ("shithole countries") President Trump was reported to have used to disparage African nations during a meeting Thursday on immigration with lawmakers at the White House. At the meeting, NPR reported, he also "questioned why the United States would admit immigrants from them and other nations, like Haiti" and El Salvador, instead of countries like Norway.

    In a Thursday evening , NPR referred to Trump's remarks only as a "vulgar slur," and reporter Kelsey Snell said listeners who wanted the full phrase could look at the NPR website, where it was rendered as "s***hole." In the first of today that guidance stood,, NPR started using the word, preceded by a brief heads-up about the language, and eventually began spelling it out online, as well.

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