Top 10 Most Controversial US Presidents

Yeah, we’re starting off strong with this one. You probably already know the circumstances that led to Clinton becoming the first American president to be impeached since Andrew Johnson over 100 years earlier. But for the uninitiated, a quick recap: Clinton, who enjoyed relatively high approval ratings going into his second term, was rocked by the revelation that he’d carried out an affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky, from 1995 to 1997. A poll carried out at the end of Clinton’s presidency revealed that 68% of the Americans surveyed believed that he would be best remembered for the Lewinsky scandal.

Don’t blame yourself if you don’t remember President Buchanan from history class. In fact, if he were around today, he’d probably prefer that — Buchanan’s political decisions leading up to the Civil War, and prior to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, have led him to be considered as one of the worst U.S. presidents to ever hold the nation’s highest office. Instead of taking decisive action on secession and the brewing tensions between the North and South, Buchanan merely waffled. Even though he disagreed with secession, the 15th president argued that the federal government’s hands were tied. Ultimately, Buchanan alienated his own party through this indecision, unfortunately solidifying his legacy.

President Reagan’s tenure in the White House was marred by scandal and stark polarization over his policymaking, as well as his administration’s conduct, which reflected negatively on him. Chiefly among these was his handling of the Iran-Contra affair, which revealed that the United States had illegally sold weapons to arms-embargoed Iran. Although Reagan claimed to be unaware of the scandal’s true depth, critics accused him of either lying or being so incompetent that he was out of the loop with regard to his own administration’s activities. This was in addition to “Reagonomics,” economic policies which disproportionately benefited the wealthy, and his draconian War on Drugs, which saw non-violent offenders locked up.

The United States’ third president has consistently been ranked by scholars and historians as one of the nation’s greatest. However, that generous assessment sits at odds with Jefferson’s well-documented support of slavery. Jefferson is reported to have owned, at one point or another, over 600 slaves, freeing only two of them during his lifetime. While Jefferson did, indeed, harbor racist beliefs that were commonplace at the time, his pro-slavery views were privately motivated by his considerable personal debt; the remainder of his slaves were sold off after his death to cover what he owed. Historian James Loewen summed it up by noting that Jefferson “wrestled with slavery, even though in the end he lost.”

Unlike several other presidents on our list today, Harding was hardly controversial during his lifetime. Quite the contrary: Harding was actually quite popular with the American public, owing to his campaign pledge to return daily life to the “normalcy” of pre-WWI times. As such, his sudden death in July of 1923 shocked the nation, and he was widely mourned. That is, until a number of posthumous scandals were unearthed, tarnishing his legacy. These included the Teapot Dome scandal, in which Interior Secretary Albert Bacon Fall was convicted of accepting bribes from oil companies for drilling rights. This was in addition to his numerous extramarital affairs, which resulted in the president fathering a child.

FDR’s particular brand of controversy has surprisingly little to do with the fact that he remains the longest-serving president in history, serving four terms over 12 years until his death. Taking office in 1933, FDR was faced with tackling the Great Depression, which his predecessor, Herbert Hoover, had failed to contain. In response, Roosevelt implemented the iterative New Deal, which aimed to provide economic relief and stimulate job creation, among other goals. New Deal programs helped the country get back on its feet, but critics asserted that those same programs constituted a form of government overreach, and accused Roosevelt of attempting to sow communism on U.S. soil.

At first glance, you might be inclined to do a double-take when you hear that Lincoln was, in his lifetime, a highly polarizing figure who was detested by many. In fact, prior to his April 1865 assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth, some of his political enemies were already plotting his demise. Lincoln earned his controversial status by openly advocating for the end of slavery, despite initially promising the Southern states that he wouldn’t involve himself in their affairs. The Emancipation Proclamation was Lincoln’s crowning achievement: on January 1, 1863, the executive order was signed into law, freeing over 3 million enslaved African Americans. Among other Confederate grievances, this led Booth to take the president’s life.

Even the start of Bush the Younger’s presidency was riddled with controversy. After a contentious election which saw the courts “deciding” the election in Bush’s favor, the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City changed everything. The Iraq War began as a direct response to the attacks, based on intel that suggested Iraqi president Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever found, and Bush’s administration was harshly criticized for the ensuing Iraqi and American casualties. As if that wasn’t enough, Bush came under fire for approving “enhanced interrogation” techniques (that is, torture) to be used on people suspected of terrorism, as well as his mishandling of the fallout of Hurricane Katrina.

Does any president have as complex and tangled a legacy as President Nixon? For years, Nixon struggled to maintain a foothold in politics, even throwing in the towel altogether after losing the 1960 presidential election and 1962 California gubernatorial election. When he finally ascended to the presidency in 1969, the 37th commander-in-chief made a number of significant accomplishments. These included pulling American soldiers out of the Vietnam War, establishing diplomatic relations with China, and enacting several progressive environmental policies. Nixon’s popularity and string of achievements came to a screeching halt once his involvement with the now-infamous Watergate scandal was exposed. When it was proven that Nixon had conspired to illegally surveil his political opponents, he became the only president to resign from his post.

Whether you love him or hate him, it’s inarguable that President Trump is a politician unlike any other. How do we even begin to list the ways that the 45th and 47th president is controversial? Well, let’s list some of his firsts: Trump is the only president in history to have served without previous military or government experience, and also the only president to have been impeached twice. Trump’s actions in office have garnered significant, widespread controversy, like his 2017 travel ban that targeted Muslim countries, and his unprecedented 2025 efforts to deport literally millions of undocumented immigrants.


We could go on, but it’s worth noting that his May 2024 conviction for falsifying business records makes him the only president to face such a criminal charge.


Which president’s actions shocked you the most? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!