# Who are Presidents even more unpopular and caustic than Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634 "2018-12-24T16:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/41 "2018-12-29T04:18:44Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Cites? I wasn’t an SDMBer in 2008; did Dopers really make that claim? I’m not faulting your memory, but would like to see the claims with my own eyes. > > And the “Left” always tends toward criticism, but did they really “turn on Obama … en masse”? > > IMHO, those who don’t think that the Trump Travesty is qualitatively different from all previous bad Presidents must be stuck in a FoxNews bubble or such. I’ve been here since 2000, and I recall no such claim about Bush on this board. Plenty of worry about things like Unitary Executive nonsense like signing statements, but not that level of stupid. I think you’re conflating at best, **Asuka**. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/42 "2018-12-29T07:55:26Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > There is no guarantee, but I assume that’s probably correct. Hopefully we’ll learn from this and never sink so low again. That’s what we said with W. Then we elected worse. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/43 "2018-12-29T13:22:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I find it reassuring that our nation has survived other bad presidents. > > Trump’s time in office will eventually pass and he’ll be a footnote in the history books. I’m sure Roman citizens reassured each other with “We’ve had bad Emperors before, I’m sure we’ll survive.” There’s always THAT one really bad one that causes things to permanently go downhill. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/44 "2018-12-29T15:54:12Z")
It’s hard to say, but from everything I’ve read about him, it seems that only Andrew Johnson was despised as much as Trump by his opposition – and some might have hated him even more than Trump is hated now, if that can be believed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/45 "2018-12-29T16:14:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I find it reassuring that our nation has survived other bad presidents. > > Trump’s time in office will eventually pass and he’ll be a footnote in the history books. This is the first time a self-serving immoral idiot has been put in office on purpose-there is no prior history/pattern to repeat on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/46 "2018-12-30T00:41:42Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > A lot of people forget just how much people hated George W Bush, Bush was basically getting all of the flack Trump was. A notable amount of people here were claiming Bush was going to suspend the 2008 election and declare himself President for Life. Bush was notable in uniting both the left and what would later become the alt-right in sheer hated of him. Alex Jones got his start claiming George W Bush was a complete monster who was going to round everyone up and put them in FEMA Death Camps. > > Also Obama had an incredibly shaky middle period of his Presidency after the NSA stuff where even the American left (on the internet at least) was turning on him en-masse. When HuffingtonPost started to turn on Obama you know things were going bad. Although Obama did some things which were unpopular from a left perspective – the left expected he would be a left wing president but he was and is a centrist – the left never turned on him en masse either on the internet or anywhere else. Bush was stupid and a warmonger, and he was roundly hated on the left. Only trump could make him look like a statesman. But now we’d all cheer if Bush magically was president today. Trump is by far the worst president in the history of the United States. I can’t imagine what human refuse could be shoveled up to be worse than him. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/47 "2018-12-31T18:39:15Z")
“Caustic” isn’t just a personality quirk of this one (although it is part of his personality). It’s also _a strategy_. He and/or his handlers have recognized that a sizable percentage of the electorate are attracted to the idea of an authority figure who is _mean_ to those weaker or with less material wealth, and they like and cheer this meanness. Like the white supremacists and Nazis who are their fellow travelers, they feel emboldened in their own urges (in this case to be mean and selfish) when they see someone in such a formerly respected position feeling free to express such petty meanness. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/48 "2018-12-31T19:07:52Z")
W Bush – Iraq, Afghanistan, trillions for the rich, “patriot” act… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/49 "2018-12-31T19:17:50Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Yet. > [@ftg](#): > > I’m sure Roman citizens reassured each other with “We’ve had bad Emperors before, I’m sure we’ll survive.” > > There’s always THAT one really bad one that causes things to permanently go downhill. Agreed. I’d say we only have about a good what, 7, 8, minutes until the country is destroyed permanently and turned into a burning wasteland with nothing and no one left but the people who supported trump. The white male. All females and non-white males will have been slaughtered with but a few left to survive in slavery. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/50 "2018-12-31T19:18:24Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > “Caustic” isn’t just a personality quirk of this one (although it is part of his personality). It’s also _a strategy_. He and/or his handlers have recognized that a sizable percentage of the electorate are attracted to the idea of an authority figure who is _mean_ to those weaker or with less material wealth, and they like and cheer this meanness. Like the white supremacists and Nazis who are their fellow travelers, they feel emboldened in their own urges (in this case to be mean and selfish) when they see someone in such a formerly respected position feeling free to express such petty meanness. Chump is the proverbial bull in a china shop. And anything he does, every single thing, is aimed at enriching himself and his family. If it benefits Americans, it’s just a coincidence, a secondary consideration. So he does not care how caustic he is. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/51 "2019-01-01T14:09:25Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > The difference with Trump is his willingness to let it all hang out in public–in a word, he’s un-presidential. This is a man who just criticized a 7 year old for believing in Santa Claus. Thing about Trump is that he didn’t actually do this. He unwittingly revealed that Santa is a myth, while participating in a Santa themed PhotoOp. The important part isn’t reveal or criticize, its unwitting. The man is an imbecile. He is literally incapable of thoughtful action. There are no decisions coming from his desk that involve a nuanced or complex understanding of the topic at hand. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/52 "2019-01-01T15:38:07Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Thing about Trump is that he didn’t actually do this. He unwittingly revealed that Santa is a myth, while participating in a Santa themed PhotoOp. Trump was trying to be clever and funny. Only, he’s really bad at it. Remember when Reagan said he’d outlawed the Soviet Union, and said ‘We start bombing in five minutes.’ into a mic. he didn’t know was hot? Many (or most) people disagree with me, but even though I disagreed with Reagan and his policies, I thought the quip was hilarious. It’s like the scene in TYO ‘Nasty’ where Neil says ‘We can’t bury Ric alive!’ and Vyvyan says, ‘You’re absolutely right, Ric. We’d better kill him first.’ It’s the way my humour runs. Reagan’s joke was absurd, especially in context. Trump’s attempt at making a joke (‘Everyone knows Santa Claus is fake, so I’ll be funny to let everyone know I know he’s fake; and this kid won’t understand my awesomeness anyway.’) was **pa-_thetic_**. It wasn’t over-the-top ludicrous like Reagan’s was (even if Reagan’s joke _was_ in poor taste). It was a stupid way of saying ‘I’m pulling the wool over this kid’s eyes. Everyone sees my power! And I don’t even mind if they fool their own kids, because then they’re being like _me!_’ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/53 "2019-01-01T16:36:10Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > History tends to smooth over the faults of our leaders. Eisenhower could strip the skin right off a subordinate as he did in the Army. Truman’s threat to punch out a critic who panned his daughter’s performance is now described as “colorful.” Wilson was bigoted, cold, had few friends, demanded unquestioned loyalty, and couldn’t or wouldn’t compromise. > > And those are just a few of the highlights. But the OP is asking if they were as colossally assholish as Trump, and they simply were not. Of course everyone has flaws. No President has ever been as openly awful and trollish a person - Andrew Jackson, perhaps, but that’s hard to compare. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/54 "2019-01-02T00:10:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Chump > [@Ambivalid](#): > > This cheapens all your posts on the subject. It seems juvenile, why do you incessantly do this? Give him a break. He’s just not quite ready to commit to “America-hating fuckstick” yet. Give him time. He’ll get there. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/55 "2019-01-02T01:10:56Z")
I don’t know, it seemed critical to me, but possibly he was making a bad joke or simply being clueless. None of these are really a good look for a president. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634/56 "2019-01-02T01:49:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How about Jimmy Carter? He was a very cold and calculating guy. Had a lot of trouble connecting to people. That lead to problems with Congress. I highly recommend this book. > [The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American ... - Steven F. Hayward - Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=FJTmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=jimmy+carter+cold+unfriendly&source=bl&ots=0jtCzmtc-f&sig=G9g4YgSj4dFtSncGJWbTmAm7U5A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjm4P2W8rjfAhUSZawKHQ89DIsQ6AEwGXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=jimmy%20carter%20cold%20unfriendly&f=false) Carter? Jimmy Carter? There are certainly arguments that he wasn’t a good president, but his being “caustic” is not one of them. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > None More Black. > > _“There’s such a fine line between clever and stupid.”_ Ah, Spinal Tap. I don’t think we can accuse GW of coming down on the “clever” side. ETA: I’d vote for Jackson. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-presidents-even-more-unpopular-and-caustic-than-trump/826634.md?page=2)