Top Ten Most Honest U.S. Presidents
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Donald J. Trump received an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania... 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.
He said he would get everything he needed to accomplish done in one term, and that's exactly what he did.
He spoke softly and carried a big stick.
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.
"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.
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.
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.