# Have we ever had a bigger braggart as President? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 29, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675 "2019-10-29T22:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/41 "2019-10-30T17:05:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > They did not. Those are the Rockies. Trump built the Rockies, with his own tiny hands. And Mexico paid for it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/42 "2019-10-30T17:29:25Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Unique? He’s the best! There’s no one like him! People have tried to be like him, but they have been utter failures! The biggest failures! Look up “braggart” in the dictionary and it says, “See Donald Trump.” For which I give an extremely grateful “Thank God” > [@Monty](#): > > As opposed to Trump’s wanting to bang the bride at every wedding, condemn the corpse at every funeral, and act like the baby at every christening. That is such an hilarious trump, and so true. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/43 "2019-10-30T17:40:53Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Archie would never deliberately hurt anyone. He was dead wrong on many things (of course) but he lacked the spite, the hate. And as the show went on, it showed that he was capable of learning. You have a much rosier view of Bunker. I think he’d be perfectly okay with Trump’s policies on immigration and the southern border. As for braggarts, I wonder if Andrew Johnson (the _first_ impeached president) fits the bill. He seemed to be an all-purpose asshole. He’s been variously described as obnoxious, insecure, spiteful and belligerent. Sound like anyone we know? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/44 "2019-10-30T17:44:34Z")
No, but, then again, he is the only narcissistic megalomaniacal president we’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/45 "2019-10-30T17:54:41Z")
I’m not sure even North Korea has had a leader who is more full of shit than Trump. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/46 "2019-10-30T18:13:35Z")
There are many superlatives that Dolt 45 will be able to lay claim to. Biggest braggart: Yes, probably. Others may have shared this trait, but I don’t think anyone was as over the top. When thousands die in your city and when interviewed on the radio state that your building is now the tallest in Manhattan, well that’s kind of hard to beat. Biggest crook. Not even close. Nixon was a saint compared to him. Biggest sexual predator. Many if not most presidents have been serial adulterers, but no others bought teen beauty pageants for the purpose of seeing the contestants undressed. Dumbest. Not even close. There have been others with much less formal education (like Lincoln), but none were as willfully ignorant as he. Biggest grifter. While making a big deal about forgoing his salary, he has made more in charging the Secret Service for golf carts and for overcharging for official events at his properties than he gave up in salary. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/47 "2019-10-30T18:27:39Z")
While reading this thread, it occurred to me that perhaps we’ve done our country a disservice by telling young children, “This is America! Anyone can become President!” I certainly don’t want the impression to be that only white males who are part of the American aristocracy can become President (although that’s certainly been true for much of our history), but it may be wise to say, “This is America! Anyone who works hard and studies hard and has empathy for their fellow citizens can become President and deserve taking on the mantle of leadership.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/48 "2019-10-30T19:16:57Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Does it? Really? Because what I’ve gathered is that about a third of the presidents had brass balls. (And Johnson would be happy to show them to you.) Sure, but hell, the job finally beat Johnson. All Presidents have had brass balls to some extent, but most had some idea that they’d bitten off more than any human could chew. There might have been a few exceptions - Herbert Hoover was egotistical to a degree even other Presidents would struggle to match and Jackson was nuts. Trump, though, clearly has some kind of narcissistic personality disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/49 "2019-10-30T19:44:15Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I agree that TR tended to brag; the difference was he had something to brag about. > > Rancher in the west, successful Governor, big game hunter (ok, not that cool today, but the early 1900’s saw things differently), military hero (San Juan Hill might have been blown out of proportion, but he did lead men and did go up that hill and he did face enemy fire). As President, Trust buster (not loved by big business), established a lot of National parks and forests, projected American power (sent the US Battleship fleet on an around-the-world cruise), schemed and plotted to get the Panama canal started…you know, he did stuff (and he also won a Nobel Peace Prize). And he talked (and wrote) about doing that stuff, perhaps to excess–but it was an age for excess, of America starting to stretch and find out powerful it really was. > > Sorry about that, guess I’m a fan. The difference between “speak softly and carry a big stick”, and “speak loudly and, … um, … have small hands” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/50 "2019-10-30T19:44:38Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > There have been others with much less formal education (like Lincoln), That’s partly a consequence of the growth and formalization of the educational system in general, though. Lincoln was a self-educated lawyer: does Illinois even accept people without JDs to the bar any more? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/51 "2019-10-30T23:47:39Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Or fooled a bunch (millions!) of morons by promising them a giant wall along our border. Hey, how’s that wall coming along, anyway? It’s migrating north. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/52 "2019-10-31T02:28:56Z")
He could always build a 541-mile long wall between Mexico and Guatemala, then annex Mexico. Maybe Vlad will give him some pointers on how he did it with Crimea. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/53 "2019-10-31T18:01:57Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > […]…you know, he did stuff (and he also won a Nobel Peace Prize).[…] > > Sorry about that, guess I’m a fan. I bet (and hope!) that that really buggers the dumb idiot out of his tiny little mind 😃 It’s not only Obama, there were more! (He probably does not know, of course, somebody should tell him. Please, Melania, Ivanka, the Rrrusshians, if you are listening: tell him!) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/54 "2019-10-31T18:05:24Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Did’t we have threads like these when W was President? > Cannot wait to see who comes after Trump and gets him to look good. That made me laugh! Just imagine, in Germany we had Merkel, and she made herself look good (and all the others bad) after about 10 years… sad, innit? ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/55 "2019-11-01T20:04:50Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Another vote for Theodore Roosevelt, to the extent that any historical comparisons can be made. > > Said his daughter of TR, “He wants to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening." > > For Roosevelt, everything was always the best and the greatest (or, perhaps, “bully”). He was known to suck the oxygen out of the room. > > The difference, though, was that he was a voracious reader and prolific author. It’s debatable whether Trump has ever read a book. (Imagine a Trump who could read a book overnight and be prepared to lecture on it in the morning). I am pretty sure Trump could read Goodnight Moon in a few hours and lecture on it in the early morning while it is still fresh in his head. I doubt he could do the same with books by Dr. Seuss. Those are far too deep. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/56 "2019-11-01T20:06:47Z")
[quote=“Monty, post:51, topic:842675”] It’s migrating north.[/QUOTE Didn’t he say we are building a wall in Colorado, presumably to keep out the New Mexicans? ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/57 "2019-11-02T20:06:14Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > As opposed to Trump’s wanting to bang the bride at every wedding, condemn the corpse at every funeral, and act like the baby at every christening. Quote of the week! ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/58 "2019-11-02T20:41:47Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > As opposed to Trump’s wanting to bang the bride at every wedding, **condemn the corpse at every funeral** , and act like the baby at every christening. {Emphasis added} But not before banging it. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/59 "2019-11-03T17:51:25Z")
[quote=“TimfromNapa, post:56, topic:842675”] [quote=“Monty, post:51, topic:842675”] It’s migrating north. [/QUOTE Didn’t he say we are building a wall in Colorado, presumably to keep out the New Mexicans?[/QUOTE] Can’t have those New **MEXICANS** stealing er jerbs. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675/60 "2019-11-04T00:01:57Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I agree that TR tended to brag; the difference was he had something to brag about. > > Rancher in the west, successful Governor, big game hunter (ok, not that cool today, but the early 1900’s saw things differently), military hero (San Juan Hill might have been blown out of proportion, but he did lead men and did go up that hill and he did face enemy fire). As President, Trust buster (not loved by big business), established a lot of National parks and forests, projected American power (sent the US Battleship fleet on an around-the-world cruise), schemed and plotted to get the Panama canal started…you know, he did stuff (and he also won a Nobel Peace Prize). And he talked (and wrote) about doing that stuff, perhaps to excess–but it was an age for excess, of America starting to stretch and find out powerful it really was. > > Sorry about that, guess I’m a fan. Yeah, Teddy DESERVED to brag. He once gave a speech twenty minutes after being shot. (BEFORE even going to the doctor, IIRC). I’d like to see Trump do that. “Death had to take him in his sleep, for if he was awake there’d have been a fight” -Thomas Marshall [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-ever-had-a-bigger-braggart-as-president/842675.md?page=4)