# Would you prefer Trump to one of history's worst presidents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 7, 2023, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176 "2023-08-07T07:44:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [August 7, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/41 "2023-08-07T18:02:11Z")
I can see the appeal of Harrison. The worst thing he did as President was to die quickly. Given a full four years or more of life, we should expect him to revert to the mean, and be an about-average President. That said, he was also a slaveowner and a proponent of slavery. I’m sure he’d be able comply with modern laws against slavery, but that’d still leave him as a horrendous racist. Ultimately, I went with Johnson. We don’t need a rehash of the mess he made of Reconstruction… but I think that, given the historical record he’d have access to, he’d realize what a mess it was, and learn from his previous mistakes. At least, I hope he would. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/42 "2023-08-07T18:32:02Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > No Nixon? 😲 😲 😲 Where’s Reagan? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/43 "2023-08-07T18:49:36Z")
I think Nixon was more…competent. ---
**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 7, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/44 "2023-08-07T18:59:52Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > So I’m curious what else might be drawing voters to Harrison… does anyone think he would actually make a good 21st-century president? Unlike the other choices, he wasn’t a proven failure as President. ---
**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 7, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/45 "2023-08-07T19:03:22Z")
Personally, I picked Harding. He was certainly not a great President. He couldn’t manage his own administration, which was notoriously corrupt. But personally he was easy-going and likable. If we’re going to have a bad President, we might as well choose one who isn’t an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/46 "2023-08-07T19:15:51Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > No Nixon? 😲 😲 😲 > [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I think Nixon was more…competent. This. In a time where global warming is the biggest threat faced by our species, it’s ironic that the party of global warming denial is the same party that produced our most environmentally friendly president. He founded the EPA. He supported and signed the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and an updated Clean Air Act. He was the president whose actions led to the clearing of urban smog. As far back as 1970, in his first State of the Union speech, he said the environment was the defining issue of the new decade. And that was just on the environment. Yes, he was a crook, and yes, I know about his whole Southern Strategy, but he was smart (he predicted what would happen to Russia way back in the early 90s, and tried to warn Clinton) and was good at his job. I’d trade Trump for Nixon. It wouldn’t be a difficulty choice. Much easier than any of the other president’s in the OPs list of alternatives. ---
**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 7, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/47 "2023-08-07T21:28:49Z")
Let’s not give Nixon too much credit. I don’t think he really cared about the environment. It was just a cause that had popularity during his term of office so he jumped on the bandwagon. As you noted, Nixon was also willing to jump on the white supremacy bandwagon when he thought that would benefit him. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/48 "2023-08-07T22:26:51Z")
If the criteria is ‘better than Trump’, they’re mostly all okay. I picked Millard Fillmore because he sounded like one of the more harmless ones of those offered. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/49 "2023-08-07T23:33:18Z")
I went with Harrison. I read his Wikipedia article and he was intolerant of government corruption. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/50 "2023-08-08T00:19:05Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I went with Harrison. I read his Wikipedia article and he was intolerant of government corruption And that’s why the 19th century Deep State got to him! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/51 "2023-08-08T00:27:48Z")
Just a popular cause, at least he did it. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/52 "2023-08-08T10:58:40Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Presidents don’t need to be “nice.” What we hope they are is one who will be good for the country and its citizens. Sure, they don’t _need_ to be nice, but niceness is nice to have. It’s why [I voted Rose Nylund for president](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/3698) elsethread. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/53 "2023-08-08T11:56:16Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I checked the first name on the list because, quite frankly, any of them would be light years better than a liar, a criminal, and a traitor. This Jasmine. But you forgot moron and rapist in your list. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/54 "2023-08-08T11:57:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > This Jasmine. But you forgot moron and rapist in your list. My bad! 😈 ---
**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 8, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/55 "2023-08-08T21:41:41Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Of all the ones on the list, he stands out for his dedication to the Constitution, putting it as the primary rule for his career as a politician. He’s clearly a better choice than Trump. I’m a better choice than Trump. It’s a real low bar. He’s the worst President this country’s ever had, which is why any of the bad Presidents listed in the poll would be preferable to Trump. That said, I don’t feel Johnson’s allegiance to the Constitution was any stronger than average. I feel his main motivation was class. Most southern leaders had grown up among the wealthy plantation owners and they felt that the interests of the south was synonymous with the interests of plantation owners. Johnson, on the other hand, had grown up poor and was a self-made man. He thought the plantation owners were not serving the interests of the majority of white southerners who were not wealthy plantation owners. His goal after the war was to break the power of the plantation owners and give it to poor and middle-class white southerners. But only the white ones; Johnson didn’t want blacks to have any political power and was okay with whites oppressing blacks. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/56 "2023-08-09T01:31:41Z")
I might possibly prefer Trump over George W.Bush, the most egregious war criminal in recent memory. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/57 "2023-08-09T15:12:03Z")
You mean the most egregious _US_ war criminal. Any suggestion that GWB did worse than Putin has is _prima facie_ ridiculous. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/58 "2023-08-09T15:15:08Z")
No, I would not want my brains bashed in rather than be shot in the leg. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/59 "2023-08-09T15:41:58Z")
Buchanan - Slavery advocate who personally intervened to assure the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in the pro-slavery decision in the Dred Scott case. Johnson - Opposed the 14th amendment. Pierce - Enforced the Fugitive Slave Act and considered the abolitionist movement a national threat. Harding - Teapot Dome scandal and an affair (big whoop). Called for anti-lynching legislation, and was rather pro-civil rights and progressive for his time. Tyler - Sided with the Confederacy. Enough Said. Harrison - Pro-slavery and anti-Native. Fillmore - Claimed he didn’t like it, but had no problems enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Trump - Trump. Warren G. Harding is an easy pick here. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176/60 "2023-08-09T22:18:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You mean the most egregious _US_ war criminal. Any suggestion that GWB did worse than Putin has is _prima facie_ ridiculous. Yes, thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-prefer-trump-to-one-of-historys-worst-presidents/988176.md?page=4)