# Who does not have to call POTUS "Mr. President"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605 "2017-04-30T22:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/21 "2017-05-01T09:06:06Z")
Americans aren’t as hung up on titles as us Brits. Prince Charles for instance demands that everyone bar close relatives address him as Your Royal Highness on every single occasion they need to speak to him. It’s a running joke among his servants. Even the Queen isn’t that anal, allowing servants to use Ma’am with her. If the guy ever gets to be king it’ll be like Versailles under Louis XIV. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/22 "2017-05-01T09:22:28Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Even the Queen isn’t that anal, allowing servants to use Ma’am with her. That’s the formal protocol though. “Your Majesty” the first time, then “ma’am” subsequently. Any source for the Prince Charles story? It’s surprisingly hard to google, due to the unexpectedly vast number of etiquette results. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/23 "2017-05-01T10:28:55Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Prince Charles for instance demands that everyone bar close relatives address him as Your Royal Highness on every single occasion they need to speak to him. It’s a running joke among his servants. Really? I distinctly remember TV documentaries (all right, they might have been staged) showing friends of his in the Navy and at Cambridge calling him “Wales”, and I’m pretty damn sure it’s just the usual “sir” for all the random people he gets introduced to at different events. And it certainly hasn’t been passed on to the next generation: [https://youtu.be/R4uo\_O7ClFM?t=1673](https://youtu.be/R4uo_O7ClFM?t=1673) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/24 "2017-05-01T13:07:43Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That’s the formal protocol though. “Your Majesty” the first time, then “ma’am” subsequently. Any source for the Prince Charles story? It’s surprisingly hard to google, due to the unexpectedly vast number of etiquette results. The source was ex-employees selling their story to the tabloids in the UK about the time he married again. Not the most reliable, I agree, but OTOH ex-employees’ tales of life behind the scenes often have a grain of truth in them. And apparently this behaviour dates from after he’d left the services. When people age they often get hidebound so it wouldnt surprise me. Incidentally he’s made no secret of the fact that of all his royal forebears he honours most the memory of George III. That tells you all you need to know about the man. George the fucking Third! The moron who lost us America. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/25 "2017-05-01T18:30:43Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > The source was ex-employees selling their story to the tabloids in the UK about the time he married again. Not the most reliable, I agree, but OTOH ex-employees’ tales of life behind the scenes often have a grain of truth in them. And apparently this behaviour dates from after he’d left the services. When people age they often get hidebound so it wouldnt surprise me. So you don’t really have a source. > [@](#): > > Incidentally he’s made no secret of the fact that of all his royal forebears he honours most the memory of George III. That tells you all you need to know about the man. George the fucking Third! The moron who lost us America. I venture that Charles’s view of George III is perhaps a bit more nuanced than yours. > **[Prince Charles names King George III as his most respected monarch](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/9738292/Prince-Charles-names-King-George-III-as-his-most-respected-monarch.html)** > > As the monarch predominately remembered for losing both the American colonies and his sanity, King George III may seem an unusual role model for the heir to the throne. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/26 "2017-05-01T18:39:23Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Incidentally he’s made no secret of the fact that of all his royal forebears he honours most the memory of George III. That tells you all you need to know about the man. George the fucking Third! The moron who lost us America. _looks around furtively_ You…uh…you want us back? ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/27 "2017-05-01T19:00:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From what I’ve heard, he _is_ milking it. Supposedly there’s a button on his desk. When he presses it, a butler appears with a Coke. Yes, there is, but it’s nothing new. It’s part of the ‘Steward Call System’. Back in the day (1977-1984), I was part of the White House Communications Agency, and I installed, tested, and maintained the system at Camp David and on the road (and other hardware, not just the call system). I’m sure the underlying technology has changed a bit, but basically it’s a radio that send a coded message to the steward ‘go to box number 14’. The little wood boxes that are in the pictures making the [rounds](http://gizmodo.com/a-closer-look-at-donald-trump-s-magic-coke-delivery-but-1794739701) looks about the same as the system I worked with, except for the red button. On the system I know, the seal was the button. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/28 "2017-05-01T19:47:59Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > Right, there is no law… but whom of his daily associates would not be calling him Mr. President ? To be clear – are you asking what they call him in person, or what they call him when he’s not in the room? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/29 "2017-05-01T21:01:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > To be clear – are you asking what they call him in person, or what they call him when he’s not in the room? Sorry I was not clear. I meant in person. It’s like on TV, even his closest aides are calling him Mr. President. (Check out Marilyn Monroe, she called JFK Mr. President, even tho they may have taken siestas together) As well, I think the same may apply to the outgoing guy, Mr. Obama. Folks must still call him Mr. President. As an aside, when I lived in Europe I would ask the trick question that stumped folks: “So, what is Obama’s surname?” Another aside, there would be an unbelievably long list of names that the current president is called when out of earshot. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/30 "2017-05-02T14:27:10Z")
As others have noted, it all depends on the President’s individual preferences. Most are called “Mr. President” by all but their closest family and most intimate friends, and then only in private. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Given who JFK’s [attorney general](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy) was, if this is a true story, it’s particularly amusing. 🙂 From all I’ve read, RFK was careful to refer to his brother as “Mr. President” when others were around, but in private would call him “Jack” or even, when he really wanted to make a serious point, “Johnny.” And Jackie’s nickname for him was “Bunny.” ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/31 "2017-05-02T15:02:13Z")
Aside from the irrelevant, unoriginal digs at the current president, I do find this question interesting. I’m watching Designated Survivor on TV, and everybody except his immediate family calls the prez “Mister President”, including people who worked for him when he was at HUD. I suppose it largely depends on the occasion, setting and who else is around, but it seems odd that someone who worked with him for years, or who has been a friend for decades, for example, would call him Mister President, at least more than once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/32 "2017-05-02T15:07:47Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > His wife, kids, old friends…? Or they do as well? I don’t call him _ **POTUS** _ or _ **Mr. President** _. I call him _ **Clown Shoes** _. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/33 "2017-05-02T15:54:57Z")
Am I the only one who finds “Mr. President” to be a bizarre construction? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/34 "2017-05-02T16:40:55Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Americans aren’t as hung up on titles as us Brits. Prince Charles for instance demands that everyone bar close relatives address him as Your Royal Highness on every single occasion they need to speak to him. It’s a running joke among his servants. Even the Queen isn’t that anal, allowing servants to use Ma’am with her. If the guy ever gets to be king it’ll be like Versailles under Louis XIV. I’m afraid your story can’t be true. My parents met him on a number of occasions (formal events, private cocktail parties etc - it was work related), and you are coached in how to address him. ‘Your Royal Highness’ on first meeting, ‘Sir’ thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/35 "2017-05-02T17:51:44Z")
In a situation like in _Designated Survivor_, I can see people being extra-careful to observe the formal norms, to emphasize that the individual in question is in fact the President, despite his unusual way of taking the office. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/36 "2017-05-02T18:25:33Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > George the fucking Third! The moron who lost us America. Easy there fuzzy little man peach. George did not “Lose” America, America simply became an untenable position. You had the northern war, the spanish war, the austrian war, the french constantly poking you in the ribs, and a million other things to contend with within shouting distance. Why continue to waste time and resources on a bunch of indians and upstarts 1000’s of miles across the sea, nothing but a money pit anyways. As you see, the entire colonial thing went sucking down the tube not even 100 years later anyways. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/37 "2017-05-02T18:40:36Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Me. Also my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/38 "2017-05-02T19:56:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Canadians. I’m Canadian and in a typical setting would certainly address a U.S. President as “Mr. President.” I’d also address the King of Thailand as “Your Majesty.” It’s just polite. That said, I don’t HAVE to. It’s a courtesy. You really should only use it on first address, though; after that it’s “sir.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/39 "2017-05-02T23:11:09Z")
How, then, would a non-Catholic, or a non-Christian, address the Pope? However formally polite, would it be hypocritical for a non-believer to address him as “Your Holiness”? (My own answer: I’m a non-Christian, but I would have no problem calling him “Your Holiness”.) ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605/40 "2017-05-02T23:47:39Z")
Reminds me of a primary school joke: Question: “What do you call an elephant with a machine gun?” Answer: “Sir” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-does-not-have-to-call-potus-mr-president/785605.md?page=3)