After I realized what it was i didn't mind the code showing up. In  testing with site members I've had a steady stream of "why is there a P and how come i can't delete it" messages.

I found an old post about this for the 1.x WpForo

https://wpforo.com/community/how-to-and-troubleshooting-2/p-in-the-lower-left-corner-of-the-message-field/paged/2/

Comparing it to the default WordPress editor, but the WordPress editor makes it clear the P is not part of the reply by separating it from the reply content. 

I don't mind keeping it but would like to style it like the WordPress by separating it like a footer bar for the reply box, similar to the WordPress editor and maybe labeling it so non-techy members know to ignore it.

Where would I do that? Is there a template I can override?