Most Controversial Presidents of the United States of America

The Top Ten
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York) is an American businessman, television personality, politician, and the 45th and 47th President of the United States... read more

This man should be impeached as soon as possible. He is a huge disgrace to America and the world. He only wants to give benefits to rich conservative white men and wants everyone else to suffer. He's so rude to others, and everything he's done so far in his presidency is terrible. I don't care what anyone says. If you criticize me, I won't listen. Impeach him now.

Only because of how uneducated America has become. Liberals have come up with the most absurd accusations with no evidence whatsoever and just hate him for no particular reason. He isn't racist, but the Libs will find the smallest thing he said and make it sound racist. If you would do your research, there is really no reason why he should be so controversial!

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. He is the only U.S. president to have resigned from office. Nixon had previously served as the 36th Vice President from 1953 to 1961, and prior to that as a U.S. Representative and Senator... read more

Richard Nixon was a crook. He may have acknowledged his loss against Kennedy, but this man would spy on his political opponents to win re-election. That's why in 1972, he won.

Yup, there's that whole Watergate scandal - still unacceptable.

George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman born on July 6, 1946. He served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and previously as the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara... read more

George W. Bush led the counterattack against the heart of terror and saved the major towers. In memory, the rebuild and upgrades were even larger than anyone could have imagined. Hope lives with a president like this.

His decision to declare war in the Middle East became a breeding ground for ISIS. This man is nothing but a war monger.

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, having been vice president at the time. Johnson is known for his clashes with Congress during the Reconstruction era and was the first U.S. president... read more
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson was an American statesman who served as the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837.

He was born near the end of the colonial era, close to the then-unmarked border between North and South Carolina, into a recently immigrated Scots-Irish farming family of relatively... read more

There were no political parties or divisions until Jackson showed up. Then the Democrats and the Whigs emerged and fought each other for power throughout the next couple of decades. Several of his policies, such as killing the bank and the Indian Removal Act, still ruffle feathers today. Very controversial, but a great president nonetheless.

The Indian Removal Act is better than Trump? Are you kidding me?

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States. He served from March 4, 1921, until his death in office on August 2, 1923. Harding's presidency is often remembered for its economic initiatives and several scandals involving members of his administration... read more
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, becoming the first African-American to hold the office. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005 to 2008) and as an Illinois state senator... read more

Obama was as controversial as he was a disgrace to our country. Those who put him in office must have turned a blind eye to what he was doing. A lot of them still try to make excuses for him, which is just further proof of how people are blinded by self-interest. It's a matter of being right despite how bad he was for our country. They can't admit they put a fraud in the Oval Office.

I am sick of you people hating this man. Is this site mainly used by the 32.76% of America that hates him? He talked to dictators with peaceful tones and solutions, improved healthcare (16.47896% of the economy), won a Nobel Prize, and is NOT A SOCIOPATH.

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman, and politician who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933. His presidency coincided with the onset of the Great Depression, during which he implemented a range of economic measures that were widely criticized for... read more
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Before his presidency, he served as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and had a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader... read more

Ketchup is a vegetable... Trees cause pollution. What's AIDS, and why would I allocate any funds to find a cure? This man is Satan incarnate.

What human garbage. How ill-informed, uneducated, and lazy are those who elected him.

Ignorant, intolerant, lazy, narrow-minded garbage!

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Before that, he was Governor of Arkansas. As a Democrat aligned with the "New Democrat" centrist movement, he enacted policies reflecting a "Third Way"... read more

Slick Willie was a slap in the face to many who served. He took an extended vacation to, I believe, Italy and claimed to be a Rhodes Scholar. Well, that was another falsehood - he never finished.

Clinton was controversial because of his lies. He was basically caught in the act, and you have people like Madeleine Albright who backed his lies, almost always making fools of themselves.

The Newcomers

? James K. Polk James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. Prior to his presidency, he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839 and as Governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841. He is noted for overseeing the expansion of the United States through... read more
? Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who is the 46th president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the United States Senate from... read more

This dude is literally promoting wars! He should be in the top 5, if not number 1!

The Contenders
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States and an American politician from the Democratic Party.

Harry S. Truman was a paradox. He wasn't going to drop the bombs until he was threatened by one of his generals with revealing to the American people why we had to lose so many men during the invasion of Japan. His real trouble came when he fired MacArthur. His approval rating tanked after that.

Truman had no choice but to end the war in the Pacific by bombing two major cities in Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This did cause his approval rating to drop significantly, but you have to realize the political achievements he made in the mid-'40s.

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. was the 15th President of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He held office immediately before the outbreak of the American Civil War. Buchanan is often criticized for his inability to address the secession crisis effectively.

This idiot did not remember that he could send troops to the South to keep them from seceding.

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Born in Staunton, Virginia, he spent his early years in Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina. Before his presidency, he served as president of Princeton University... read more
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery,... read more

He is seen as amazing (which he is) now, but the country was split about him in his time, figuratively and literally.

Hey! The tall guy made it to this list.

John Tyler John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States. He was also briefly the tenth Vice President, elected to that office on the 1840 Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison. Tyler became president after Harrison's death, making him the first vice president to succeed to the presidency due to the... read more
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant was an American soldier and statesman who served as Commanding General of the Army and the 18th President of the United States, the highest positions in the military and the government of the United States.
Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr (October 1, 1924 - December 29, 2024) was an American politician and author who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center.

Carter was probably the most mundane president we've ever had. I was in the military when he decided to cut government spending. His answer was to cut the military with his Fat Boy program. He gave people very little time to get down to their specified weight, or they were discharged. Military retirement at 50% of your base pay requires 20 years of service. There were guys with almost enough time to retire who were severed from the military and lost their retirement.

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democrat, he viewed the abolitionist movement as a threat to national unity. His presidency is often criticized for his support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which exacerbated sectional tensions.
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963), commonly known as JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from January 1961 until his assassination. His presidency was marked by the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), the Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961), the signing... read more

JFK may be the only Democratic president who cared as much for his country as he did for his party. By today's standards, he would be considered a conservative. You'll never hear a Democrat say anything like Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. Nowadays, they're too busy pandering for everyone's vote. All people have to do is look at the history of JFK. He's the only Democratic president to ask for a meaningful tax cut. He got it posthumously.

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He assumed the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Johnson is known for his Great Society domestic programs and signing the Civil... read more

LBJ could never have become president without JFK's assassination. To this day, some think he was somehow involved in it. Congress investigated it in '67 or '68 and concluded that it was a conspiracy. Who knows who was involved? The list of those who benefited is long and distinguished, and he's on it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and the 32nd President of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he was elected to an unprecedented four terms and led the nation through the... read more

While not the most controversial, he is the most divisive president. People like him for his strong leadership, while others hate him for locking up Japanese people in internment camps as "revenge."

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general.
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft served as the 27th President of the United States and as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, the only person to have held both offices. He served as President from 1909 to 1913 and was later appointed Chief Justice in 1921, serving until 1930. Taft is remembered for his... read more

A lot of people believe Taft was not good at representing the country, but some might not agree, which can fit the definition of "controversy."

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore was an American politician who served as the 13th President of the United States from 1850 to 1853. He was the last Whig president, and the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties.
Calvin Coolidge John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was an American politician and the 30th President of the United States. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor.
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