Top Ten Most Honest U.S. Presidents
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 No one really knows what Lincoln believed in his heart, but as a statesman, a speaker, and a negotiator, he was brilliant.
He had his faults, but he is, in my opinion, the most honest.
He was very honest. Ended slavery too!
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. The "Malaise Speech" is Carter being brutally honest with the American people. Although it didn't do him any good for re-election.
A weaker president who moved more to the "left" along with the Democratic Party, Carter always seemed to be a man of faith and conviction. He was also a solid champion of Habitat for Humanity.
Carter was not a careless and heartless president. He was forgiving despite delivering weak leadership. The oil and fuel scarcity may have given him a headache in office because of Nixon's policies. But he was honest and managed to show compassion even after losing greatly against Reagan. He will be remembered as the most honest president of the late 70s.
George Washington (February 22, 1732– December 14, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot... read more An exceptional leader with strong moral character that earned the respect of a divided set of colonies and drove the formation of a great democracy and nation.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29th, 1917 - November 22, 1963) commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination. The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Nuclear Test Ban... read more JFK did not believe in secret societies running the world, and he was the last non-puppet president. In comparison, he was pretty honest.
Who doesn't love JFK? If he had lived, America would be a much better place. He took a HUGE stand against communism!
A good man who was felled too early. Not perfect in everyone's eyes, but very underrated.
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African-American president of the United States... read more Obama was far more educated, aware, compassionate, and forward-thinking than many of the Republican presidents, especially Reagan and Trump. There is no comparison between him and the abominable lies that spewed forth from those two morons on a consistent basis!
Inexperienced but a great president. Led the USA at a very difficult time after the Great Recession. Was honest, but not close to Jimmy Carter's altruism and virtue of bold honesty.
Brilliant, educated, knowledgeable, eloquent, kindhearted, articulate with experience, hard work ethic, and morals.
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father who was principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and served as the 3rd President of the United States from 1801-1809. He was born on April 13, 1743, and died on July 4, 1826, on the same day 2nd United States President John Adams died.
John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman who served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829 at the peak of a political career during which he served in various capacities as diplomat, United States Senator, United States Secretary of State,... read more
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and dominated his party for many years as a central figure in world events... read more
Stephen Grover Cleveland was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.
On January 20th, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President, joining Cleveland as the only presidents to serve non-consecutive terms. Cleveland rose to his positions based on his willingness to stand by his principles and follow through on his promises.
He focused his presidency on keeping the government honest.
Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) was an American politician and actor who was 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . Prior to his presidency, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, following a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader until his death in 2004 He said he would improve the economy, and he did. He said that the people don't serve the government, and he made sure to serve them instead. He did what he said. Following through is huge in politics.
The Newcomers
George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 - November 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Prior to assuming the presidency, Bush served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989. I know it is odd that a former CIA leader would rank so honestly, but I think H.W. Bush was honest to his own detriment. He knew the best way to handle the post-Reagan economy was to get spending under control and raise taxes. It cost him his job (and Clinton benefited greatly from the head start H.W. gave him).
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 Pretty much an open book. According to conservatives, he is a feeble old man and a Bond villain. I think "old" fits, but he is no villain.
Given time, Joe Biden will be shown to be another one of the greats.
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, somewhere near the then-unmarked border between North and South Carolina, into a recently immigrated Scots-Irish farming family of relatively... read more
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American politician and general who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. Dwight seemed to be very upfront and honest. He came from a different era. You were blunt and honest. His heart knew the truth, I think, but when you're fighting most of your life to save your country, I think it can make you look the other way at times for a greater good.
He was horrified with the new America that developed after WWII. He was like a grandfather who was disappointed in the turn from loving each other. A hard man but said it as it was.
Ike had some issues in terms of thinking too much like a soldier (should never have gotten involved in Iran), but at least was relatively honest.
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. Like others have said, Truman should be at least in the top 3. This man remained poor after leaving office, and there is not one single shred of evidence that he ever did a corrupt thing during his political career. As I have read in various places, the experts have tried to find dirt, but he remains squeaky clean.
He probably respected the office of POTUS more than any other President before or since.
Harry S. Truman should be in the Top 3 alongside Lincoln and Carter. Why is he #16? Truman was one of the most honest presidents in U.S. history. When he was running for judge of Missouri, the political boss at that time, Tom Prendergast, said, "Politics is a game of friends." Truman responded, "Does that mean I'm supposed to let your friends steal $10,000?!" Prendergast then said, "Is that what all this yelling is about?" Truman said, "Tom, I don't care if it's $10,000 or $100,000. I told you when I agreed to run I wasn't going to stand for any monkey business." Prendergast said, "You will do what I tell you." Truman told Tom, "No sir, I don't work for you. I work for the people of this county."
Truman cared about the farmers and was quite upset about taking the stolen money, which he thought should be raised through fundraising, not stealing. When he was senator of Missouri, he called out other politicians for being crooks and said himself, "You can't get rich in politics unless you're a crook."
He left office with a 32% approval rating because he made not the most popular decisions, but the right ones. He wanted to establish civil rights legislation because he didn't like the injustice, but Republican Congress obstructed it. He won an election everyone thought he would lose to Dewey, and he won in spite of the critics calling him a wild accident of history. He was upright, and his values were never questioned.
John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. Adams served as the president of the United States from March 4, 1797 to March 4, 1801. He died on July 4, 1826 at the age of 90. John Adams was a moral and upright man who dealt with a lying press that hated him as much as they hate Trump today. Adams was more honest than they all gave him credit for. He was likely one of our most honest presidents ever.
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American businessman, television personality, politician, and the 45th and 47th President of the United States... read more Despite all the fuss, drama, hatred, and corrupt lies perpetrated against him, Trump called a spade a spade and was frankly right time and time again. His accomplishments spoke for themselves. He was not part of the corrupt establishment or deep state and is the type of leader we need to at least try to clean it up. No doubt he's a controversial guy, but he was competent and effective.
What is interesting is, Trump appears to be among the most decent and honest of the modern presidents. When you compare him to Kennedy, LBJ, FDR, Wilson, Eisenhower, Hoover, Bush 41, Bush 43, Clinton, Obama, and Carter, he stands head and shoulders above them in terms of fidelity to this nation and its founding.
Theodore Roosevelt was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the... read more He spoke softly and carried a big stick.
James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was Speaker of the House of Representatives and governor of Tennessee. He said he would get everything he needed to accomplish done in one term, and that's exactly what he did.
James Abram Garfield was the 20th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his assassination later that year.
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson became president as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of [Abraham Lincoln].
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. An unpretentious man who did what he could with what he was given. There was no way he could have won in '76 with the anchor of his association with Nixon around his neck.
Faced adversity despite unpopular opinions. When he spoke, you knew he was speaking from the heart, not from D.C.
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.
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.
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. "Silent Cal" restored trust in the executive branch after the scandals of the Harding administration. The American people agreed, as shown by his victory with 324 electors in 1924.
Told it like it is. Never tried to sugarcoat anything. Honestly, the most underrated president of all time.
James Madison, Jr. was a political theorist, American statesman, and served as the fourth President of the United States. A very underrated president who also helped with drawing up our Constitution. Not to mention his wife, who was fearless for her country against the British.
Madison should be much higher than 19. No scandals, almost universally respected by his peers.
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. Grant was an everyman's war dog. Interestingly, his reputation was far worse than the man himself. Many of the habits attributed to him were entirely made up. And let's face it, he won the Civil War for lying Lincoln. Even if I agreed with Lincoln's motives, Honest Abe wasn't so honest.