Top 10 Most Racist U.S. Presidents

1. 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

   While Trump is definitely bigoted and xenophobic, and Jackson was extremely racist even for his times, Wilson was exceptionally racist. He segregated his entire cabinet and any branch in government, ignored various lynchings and Black rights at that time, and stated that A Birth of a Nation is culturally accurate. He was our most racist president.

   If anybody here believes that Trump should be number one instead of Woodrow Wilson, your lack of brain cells is immeasurably low. How in the world could you actually have an IQ higher than a peanut if you think a blatantly racist president who actively supported the KKK was less racist than Donald Trump?

2. 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

   Andrew Jackson was far more racist than Donald Trump ever will be. Jackson was responsible for the Trail of Tears and the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

   Andrew Jackson is the most racist president in US history. He really does not deserve to be on a twenty dollar bill because the reality of what he did back in the day was truly awful. The Trail of Tears became a foundation of a racist image favored by the Democrats. Thousands, if not millions, of Native Americans were forced out of their land and had to walk nonstop interstate. Most of them died on the way due to starvation. But he is just a racist.

3. 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

   The worst president ever! We wouldn't have needed a civil rights movement if it weren't for this jackass. He undid everything Lincoln had tried to do for African Americans. I can't believe he was Lincoln's vice president!

   You all thought Donald Trump was racist? Look at THIS guy who tried to kick people out of his land just because of the color of their skin. Now tell me what/who's more racist?

   He was sympathetic towards White Southerners, and he tried to deny every amendment that was designed to give equality to the recently liberated slaves.

4. 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.

   Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Donald J. Trump received an economics degree from the Wharton School of the... read more

   Number 1. He is mentally 2 years old. He thinks all Muslims are ISIS, but they're not all. He hates Mexicans, who helped build the US. He is sexist. His supporters are stupid. He knows nothing about politics. He said he would bang his daughter if she wasn't his daughter. He works with our crazy Vice President, Mike Pence. He makes stupid ideas. He wants to make women have unfair rights. He thinks any Mexican, even U.S. Mexicans, should be deported. He thinks any immigrant cannot get a U.S. citizenship.

   Sure, Mexico has a Drug War to deal with, but this racist does not care. He keeps Mexicans out of the United States, at least some. Still, though, not a cool move. If they stay in Mexico, it is likely that they will die because of drug cartels. But the USA is like this without noticing it, "Let them die. They deserve it." There are immigrants from Mexico coming to the United States to stay safe. Why is he on Number 7? He should be on Number 1.

5. 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

   Trump is shown as racist, but he is not.

   Obama is very racist and received an arguably appropriate position in the voting, though he maybe should have totaled higher votes, actually.

   Joe Biden, more than his lying nature permits, has always been an exploitative racist, and further than that, he's just stupid.

   Wilson, of course, put himself at the top of this list and seems voted appropriately at the #1 spot.

   Everyone else. I'm not that certain, but all the remaining candidates just seem middling in the racist race, to the point of mattering little.

   So says me!

   To all the ones who think he is not, all you have to do is look at the racism before his presidency, and after. You can clearly see a difference. After 9-11 happened, the country became closer together than ever. Now it is blown apart and split into several different groups. A person does not have to say anything about race to be a racist. They can do it through actions too. Just like they say 'Actions Speak Louder Than Words', and his actions speak for 8 years.

   He has a lot of deep hatred, if you actually read about him, or read anything he has written. He was raised by his grandparents, who were white and wealthy, yet he wants to make reference to white privilege and call out the same type of people he was raised by. That is ungrateful. If he would not have been raised the way he was, he would not have been president. His whole life would have been different. I think he should be grateful for what he has, and the people who helped him along the way. Kinda funny he makes it into the top 3 on this list, when everyone says he is not a racist.

6. Joe Biden

   

   Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. 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... read more

   "You've got the first mainstream African American who is clean, bright and articulate, and a nice-looking guy. That's storybook, man!"

   Joe talking about Obama. And this was before he was sleepy!

   "If you have a problem figuring out if you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black!"

   "Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community!"

   Get this idiot to number 1, please!

   Supported segregation in schools, called Black kids roaches, called people of color jungle animals, opposed busing, called Black people n-words, and said he wants to put Black people back in chains. "Yeah, Trump is totally the racist one!"

7. 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

   This guy was overthrown so badly that he resigned from his job and left us in large debt. He was also racist in some ways but he was just a bad president.

   He was caught on tape saying abortion is wrong except if it's interracial.

   Nixon had used ethnic slurs, such as the N-word and the K-word (Jews).

8. 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

   He locked up a lot of Japanese Americans during World War II, and there wasn't a single incident of sabotage by Japanese Americans during that time! Why didn't he gather up Italians or German Americans and place them in internment camps? I would say Franklin D. Roosevelt was a racist!

   Let's be real, while he did some great things, the internment stuff is just terrible. Trump or Biden at their most malicious would never come close to treating Japanese people like farm animals by roping them up in a "camp".

9. 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.

   How is James Buchanan down here?

10. 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. Prior to his presidency, he served as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and maintained a career as a Hollywood actor and... read more

    Reagan supported the Apartheid government in South Africa. That alone proves he is a racist president. Even in an audio recording that recently surfaced with a conversation involving him and Nixon, where he referred to African Americans as monkeys, he reveals himself as a total racist buffoon. He is outright a race divider.

    He let guerrillas ship tons of cocaine into inner cities. Then, he mass incarcerated black people with crack-cocaine ratio laws.

    I cannot believe Lyndon Johnson, who was one of the least racist presidents ever, is above this man. Reagan might have done some good stuff, but he was extremely racist.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    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

12. ?

    William Henry Harrison

    

    William Henry Harrison was an American statesman who served as the 9th President of the United States from March 4, 1841, until his death on April 4, 1841. He died of pneumonia, reportedly after being exposed to cold weather during his unusually long inaugural address. His time in office remains the... read more

The Contenders

13. 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

    He should be higher. I saw it in the category about white supremacists on Wikipedia.

14. Lyndon Johnson

    

    Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming the office after serving as the 37th Vice President under President John F. Kennedy. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, a major legislative achievement in the fight for... read more

    Surprised he's so low. Yes, policy-wise he did things for Civil Rights, but he also used the N-word frequently, and I think that's more indicative of the man.

    He used the "N" word so many times, yet he supported the Civil Rights Act.

    Johnson should be in the top three. He was one of the most racist presidents we've ever had.

15. 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

    This man doesn't care about black people! Have you seen how he handled that hurricane back in 2005? Unbelievable. Bush should be in the top 10 instead of Obama. I'm not saying Obama is great, but still.

    George W. Bush got a problem with black people and doesn't care about them at all. Plus, he is the most immature United States president that has ever been elected.

16. 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 had a long military career as an officer in the United States Army. He rose to the rank of major general and gained national recognition for his leadership... read more

17. 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

    Basically, any president before Abe Lincoln was racist, and even after him, most were still racist. Donald Trump shouldn't be so high on this list. We are living in a completely different time period now. Study your history, libs.

    It is truly sad that some people think that a man who betrayed the country and joined the Confederacy is less racist than the self-proclaimed "least racist person on Earth."

18. George Washington

    

    George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War and presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787, helping to shape the U.S. Constitution and... read more

    While George Washington did own slaves, he treated them benevolently and set them free in his will.

    All of the first several presidents (except Adams and Quincy Adams) owned slaves.

19. 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

    He announced in his inaugural speech that he would not appoint Blacks to federal posts as Republicans before him had, and he did not appoint any. He appointed ex-Confederate soldiers to the Supreme Court and began the wave of Blacks turning away from the Republican party toward the Democrats. He sent troops to Cuba to help during the Negro rebellion during which thousands of Blacks were slaughtered. He was the most racist President who knew and admitted he was racist.

    He used to yell at blacks and call them a sham.

20. Thomas Jefferson

    

    Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who authored the Declaration of Independence and served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He died on July 4, 1826, the same day as John Adams, the second president.

    Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, proclaimed that all men (white) are created equal. Jefferson, a student of Thomas Locke, believed that man's natural state is to be free. Jefferson, who owned lots and lots of slaves. Jefferson, who predicted that the country would come to blows over slavery. Jefferson, the hypocrite. Jefferson, who liked (loved) Black women. Jefferson, who fathered numerous children by Black slave women.

21. 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.

22. Grover Cleveland

    

    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.

23. 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 economic measures that were widely criticized for being ineffective... read more

    He was related to J. Edgar Hoover who was prejudiced. He was one of the worst presidents in history because he caused a great depression.

24. Gerald R Ford

    

    Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977. He assumed the presidency following Richard Nixon's resignation and is the only person to have served as both vice president and president without being elected... read more

25. Ulysses S. Grant

    

    Ulysses S. Grant was an American soldier and statesman who served as Commanding General of the Army and as the 18th President of the United States. He led the Union Army to victory during the American Civil War. Grant served two presidential terms from 1869 to 1877 and played a major role in Reconstruction... read more

26. 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, bolstering... read more

    While he did free the slaves, he also thought that white people were better than Black people. I do still respect him. Even though he thought that white people were better, he never thought that they should be slaves and did think they should have rights. He might have been extremely racist, but he had some morality.

    Know your facts, guys. Lincoln was pressured into freeing slaves. He in no way wanted blacks to have equal rights as whites.

    Revisionist history at work. George Orwell would be so proud.

27. 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.

    Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan wasn't racism, by the way.

    Dropping the atomic bomb is not racist, like Cobalt said, but he was part of the KKK.