# Which former U.S. Presidents were the biggest jerks? \[personalities, not policies\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519 "2017-08-24T03:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/1 "2017-08-24T03:41:56Z")
I just posted [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20434607&postcount=28) in a Pit thread: > [@tim314](#): > > if anything the lesson of November is that a lot of voters are fine with a complete asshole being president But in retrospect, maybe this is old news. Probably there have been other U.S. Presidents who were just plain jerks, if not in precisely the way that Trump is. So, my question is: **Which former U.S. Presidents were the biggest jerks?** A few ground rules: [ol] [li]Please note the “former”. Despite the fact that Trump inspired the thread, we really don’t need another thread bashing him. I’m hoping to hear about the personalities of _historical_ Presidents.[/li] [li]I’m talking about how they treated people _excluding_ the effects of their policies. So for instance I might think George W. Bush was a lousy President who pursued misguided policies, but I’ve never heard of him belittling or insulting or abusing people. So he wouldn’t make my list.[/li] [li]Let’s limit this to things they did while in office. If they were a jerk in their youth, but shaped up by the time they were elected, it doesn’t count.[/li] [li]It doesn’t count if they were only a jerk to their opponent during a political campaign. If they continued to be a jerk to them afterwards, sure, it counts.[/li] [\*]Lastly, let’s not count people solely on the basis of slave ownership. Of course owning slaves was terrible – but I already know that list. ([Here it is](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves)) If, in addition to being a slave owner, James K. Polk beat his wife, or stole money from the Church collection plate, or routinely ridiculed his Vice President during cabinet meetings, I’d want to know about it. (I’m not suggesting the offenses listed in the previous sentence are of equal severity – just that I’d consider them all evidence that Polk was a jerk.)[/ol] ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/2 "2017-08-24T03:58:56Z")
Lyndon B. put the Johnson back in the Presidency. [A nude press conference? The history and shenanigans on Air Force One](http://wgntv.com/2016/02/29/a-nude-press-conference-the-history-and-shenanigans-on-air-force-one/) > [@](#): > > There he was, the leader of the free world, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, aboard Air Force One standing in front of reporters, naked as a jaybird. > > To be fair, it was a hot, sunny day. > > Johnson, who wasn’t a shy man, had just finished delivering a stump speech during his 1964 presidential election campaign. > > He’d invited White House reporter Frank Cormier and two colleagues to an impromptu news conference in the presidential quarters, according to Cormier’s 1977 book, “LBJ: The Way He Was.” > > It’s not every day that the president of the United States takes off his shirt and pants while answering your questions about the economy. > > As Cormier described it, Johnson “shucked off his underwear.” Then, as if nothing unusual were going on, the President continued talking to the reporters while “standing buck naked and waving his towel for emphasis.” [Gawker](http://gawker.com/lbj-was-obsessed-with-his-dick-1694599317) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/3 "2017-08-24T04:22:55Z")
I’m far from a historian, but didn’t Andrew Jackson manage to get into rather a large number of duels? If you find yourself in one duel, maybe the other guy is the asshole. But if you end up in 10 duels, odds are you’re the asshole. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/4 "2017-08-24T04:29:26Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m far from a historian, but didn’t Andrew Jackson manage to get into rather a large number of duels? If you find yourself in one duel, maybe the other guy is the asshole. **But if you end up in 10 duels, odds are you’re the asshole.** Also a much better shot. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/5 "2017-08-24T04:30:31Z")
Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/6 "2017-08-24T04:38:37Z")
Assuming the reports of Kennedy’s serial adultery are true, that makes him a pretty big jerk in my book. I can understand being unhappy in your marriage and having an affair, even if I don’t condone it. But having a string of trysts with multiple women while you’re married is pretty jerky. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/7 "2017-08-24T05:18:21Z")
Lyndon Johnson. He was both a whiner and a bully. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/8 "2017-08-24T09:52:34Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Nixon. You are allowed to give reasons. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/9 "2017-08-24T10:56:11Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m far from a historian, but didn’t Andrew Jackson manage to get into rather a large number of duels? If you find yourself in one duel, maybe the other guy is the asshole. But if you end up in 10 duels, odds are you’re the asshole. Jackson was the first one I thought of, but he stood up for Peggy Eaton when the rest of Washington high society was against her even though it cost him dearly politically. So he’s got that going for him. And LBJ almost certainly takes the philandering prize from Clinton and Kennedy (and Harding and…), in addition to all the other ways he was obsessed with his own genitals. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/10 "2017-08-24T11:36:34Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And LBJ almost certainly takes the philandering prize from Clinton and Kennedy (and Harding and…), in addition to all the other ways he was obsessed with his own genitals. Right. There’s the story that LBJ wanted to get some legislation passed. An underling asked why they would listen to him or how was he going to get it done. LBJ whips out his junk and replies, “Because I’ve got this.” Seems Johnson was quite proud of his Johnson. Dickish behavior to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/11 "2017-08-24T16:16:31Z")
Others have already mentioned LBJ, but I don’t see mentioned the story about him peeing on the leg of a secret service agent. When the agent complained that it was disgusting, LBJ replied “It’s my prerogative.” Things like that and forcing assistants to come talk to him while he is in the bathroom taking a shit make him a pretty big asshole, in my opinion. … Herbert Hoover demanded that White House staff run and hide when he walked down the halls. Apparently FDR kept the pattern up, but it was Truman who asked why people were always hiding in the bushes when he walked by. … Jimmy Carter apparently expected his Secret Service agents to carry his bags for him. I imagine that was a misunderstanding, but it could be construed as pretty dismissive of their important function. … I once read that Gerald Ford used to blame his farts on his Secret Service agents. Not cool, man. Not cool. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/12 "2017-08-24T18:31:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Jackson was the first one I thought of, but he stood up for Peggy Eaton when the rest of Washington high society was against her even though it cost him dearly politically. So he’s got that going for him. Hard to say with Jackson. Did he defend an unpopular cause as a matter of principle? Or as a means of starting a feud with as many people as possible? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/13 "2017-08-24T18:35:56Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I once read that Gerald Ford used to blame his farts on his Secret Service agents. Not cool, man. Not cool. I’ve heard Ford had a wicked sense of humor. But he concealed it in public situations because he felt the public image of elected officials should be dignified. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/14 "2017-08-24T18:46:26Z")
I interpret the OP to refer to bad behavior after the President leaves office. That is, former President. Plenty of Presidents have been spoiled brats in office, Harding, Nixon, Kennedy, LBJ, etc. But from what I have read over the years, LBJ is the biggest dick after he left office. Starting with demanding the chair from Air Force One that took him back to Texas. From all I read, his behavior was bad in office and didn’t get better. Nixon, OTOH, seemed like a pretty good person after leaving office. He paid for several kid’s college education-anonomoulsy. And one of the very few if not the only former President to send his SS detail away. He hired a former cop as a personal bodyguard to keep the scammers away and didn’t cost the Gov’t anything more in security. So I think as a _former_ President he did quite well. I suspect that such things are relative. A former President in the 1800’s didn’t have the opportunity to be rude to anyone-they didn’t get a lot of official attention and socially they were hardly the top tier (mostly-no money). Remember, it wasn’t until Truman, who was broke when he left office, that there was even a pension or office space provided by the Government. Grant spent his last days battling cancer and working hard on his biography so that he could provide something to his family after he died. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/15 "2017-08-24T18:58:54Z")
LBJ had an amphibious car that could be driven on water. He used to like to invite people to his ranch and invite them for a drive. He would then pretend the car was out of control and he would drive into a lake. FDR did not get along with the white house reporters. He would make fun of them because they went to brick colleges unlike an Ivy Leaguer like himself. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/16 "2017-08-24T19:00:48Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m far from a historian, but didn’t Andrew Jackson manage to get into rather a large number of duels? If you find yourself in one duel, maybe the other guy is the asshole. But if you end up in 10 duels, odds are you’re the asshole. Quite a few. Probably more than ten. Like many in the day an unknown number ended with both shooting in the air and declaring to be satisfied. In the case of Charles Dickinson that is not what happened. Dickinson was a renowned marksman. Jackson put on a bulky coat to try to disguise where his heart was. He stood there and took the first shot to the chest an inch from his heart. He then carefully aimed and shot Dickinson in the gut. Jackson lived Dickinson did not. He was an asshole but he was a tough son of a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/17 "2017-08-24T19:02:55Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I interpret the OP to refer to bad behavior after the President leaves office. That is, former President. Plenty of Presidents have been spoiled brats in office, Harding, Nixon, Kennedy, LBJ, etc. But from what I have read over the years, LBJ is the biggest dick after he left office. Starting with demanding the chair from Air Force One that took him back to Texas. From all I read, his behavior was bad in office and didn’t get better. > > Nixon, OTOH, seemed like a pretty good person after leaving office. He paid for several kid’s college education-anonomoulsy. And one of the very few if not the only former President to send his SS detail away. He hired a former cop as a personal bodyguard to keep the scammers away and didn’t cost the Gov’t anything more in security. So I think as a _former_ President he did quite well. > > I suspect that such things are relative. A former President in the 1800’s didn’t have the opportunity to be rude to anyone-they didn’t get a lot of official attention and socially they were hardly the top tier (mostly-no money). Remember, it wasn’t until Truman, who was broke when he left office, that there was even a pension or office space provided by the Government. Grant spent his last days battling cancer and working hard on his biography so that he could provide something to his family after he died. The OP clearly laid out that he’s looking for behavior while president. “Former” is to keep it from becoming a “Trump is an asshole” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/18 "2017-08-24T19:41:19Z")
Check out the new web comic strip, _Two Party Opera_. All presidents, all the time, Washington through Trump. Great fun, and the creator is well-schooled in history. In only goes back to October 2016, so you can archive-binge in an hour. > **[Two Party Opera](https://www.twopartyopera.com/)** > > A comic about presidents and other star-spangled banter. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/19 "2017-08-24T19:46:07Z")
I am not excusing JFK’s philandering, but I have to wonder aloud of wealthy, old-money, high-powered men of his day didn’t take on mistresses as a matter of course. By all accounts he loved Jackie dearly, even though he cheated on her with reckless abandon. Maybe Boston high society in those days just treated such things with a wink and a nod. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519/20 "2017-08-24T21:15:04Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I am not excusing JFK’s philandering, but I have to wonder aloud of wealthy, old-money, high-powered men of his day didn’t take on mistresses as a matter of course. By all accounts he loved Jackie dearly, even though he cheated on her with reckless abandon. Maybe Boston high society in those days just **treated such things with a wink and a nod.** Which is how they should be treated, even today, for everyone. The Clinton witch hunt is a good example of why. Tons of government money and man hours wasted for nothing but Clinton banging the chunky chick that brought in the mail. None of which affected his ability as President. Other countries are completely fine with this behavior but the USA is still so damn prudish. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-former-u-s-presidents-were-the-biggest-jerks-personalities-not-policies/794519.md?page=2)