The Most Vulgar US Presidents, Ranked

Potential Vulgarities: Foul language, felony convictions, brash behavior, rude comments, lying, violating the Constitution Notable Examples/Instances: Elected to the presidency in 2016 and again in 2024, Donald Trump spent the time in between terms facing numerous legal actions. In May 2024, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in connection with efforts to bribe an adult film actress to lie about a sexual encounter they had. Trump was also found liable in civil court for sexual abuse and ordered to pay $5 million to accuser E. Jean Carroll. Trump had sexually abused her in 1996. Even before becoming president, Trump verbally abused fellow politicians and others, notably giving rise to racist “birther” attacks on Barack Obama during his presidency. Comparable behavior was seen when Trump faced Democrat Kamala Harris during the 2024 election for president. Trump's first term in office was notable for allegations of obstruction of justice related to an investigation into Russian election interference in 2016. Trump was never brought up on any charges. He was, however, impeached twice, once for purportedly asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate rivals and potential election interference. He reportedly withheld military aid as a way of leveraging what he wanted and was subsequently impeached by the House of Representatives. The Senate acquitted Trump in February 2020. Trump's second impeachment took place after the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Trump lost the 2020 election and, when his supporters converged rose up against the idea of Trump leaving office, he “willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged - and foreseeably resulted in - lawless action at the Capitol.” Trump was impeached by the House but subsequently acquitted by the Senate. After Trump took office again in early 2025, he immediately instituted anti-immigration policies akin to those of his first term and issued dozens of executive orders to institute governmental reforms. Trump exhibited poor manners and rejected protocol and norms on multiple occasions. During a meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine in February 2025, for example, he and Vice President JD Vance chided the leader for his lack of respect, criticizing his clothing and telling him he “should be thanking” them for their help in trying to end the conflict with Russia. He defied the US Supreme Court and the US Constitution numerous times during his first months in office, notably bombing Iran to support Israel in June 2025. Trump's comments to the media on June 24, 2025, included the first use of “f*ck” by a US president on live television and was seen by many as a clear indication of Trump's continued low-brow behavior, akin to referring to some nations as “sh*thole” countries in 2018. Additionally, his social media has repeatedly used harsh language, insults, and offensive terms while criticizing anyone who disagrees with him. On Easter Sunday in 2026, Trump escalated his use of expletives by dropping several swear words - including an eff-bomb - in conjunction with the ongoing war in Iran. Trump's message from April 6, 2026, included several inflammatory words: Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!! Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy b**tards, or you’ll be living in H*ll - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.

Potential Vulgarities: Foul language, nicknaming his penis, holding meetings in the bathroom, showing off his genitals Notable Examples/Instances: Among the numerous demonstrations of President Lyndon B. Johnson's gruff, abrasive demeanor was his blunt discussion of his male anatomy. Johnson didn't shy away from talking about his penis, notably calling it “Jumbo.” According to Robert A. Caro's biography, The Path To Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, LBJ's brother recalled that when he visited the future president, he would come back from the shower, put his penis in his hand, and declare, "Well I've got to take ol' Jumbo here and give him some exercise. I wonder who I'll f*ck tonight." Johnson continued this type of behavior during his political career, making a trip to the urinal a production of sorts. Caro wrote in Master of the Senate: The Years Of Lyndon Johnson, If he was urinating in a bathroom of the House Office Building and a colleague came in, Johnson, finishing, would sometimes turn to him with his penis in hand. Without putting it back in his pants, he would begin a conversation, still holding it, ‘and shaking it, as if he was showing it off,’ says one man with whom he did this. He asked another man, ‘Have you ever seen anything as big as this?’ A lack of boundaries was present during Johnson's presidency, too. He reportedly held meetings while in the bathroom. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin told C-SPAN, When he went into the bathroom he would just call you in and say, 'Come on in! I haven't finished what I'm saying!'

Potential Vulgarities: Foul language, physical violence, angry outbursts Notable Examples/Instances: In his youth, Andrew Jackson was involved in repeated brawls, skirmishes, and disagreements. According to James L. Armstrong's Reminiscences, or, An extract from the catalogue of General Jackson's “juvenile indiscretions” between the ages of 23 and 60, Jackson engaged in no fewer than 14 altercations. At the end of the list, however, Armstrong asserted that he'd actually accumulated “nearly one hundred fights or violent and abuse quarrels” involving Jackson. Jackson also took part in numerous duels, famously shooting and killing Charles Dickinson in 1806 for having insulted his wife, Rachel. While celebrating his inauguration in 1829, Jackson held a party that turned rowdy when he opened the White House to the public. Senator James Hamilton later described the event as a “regular Saturnalia.” One more aspect of Jackson's potential vulgar proclivities was his use of crude language. His affinity for swearing was so pronounced that his pet parrot, Poll, picked up the words. At Jackson's funeral in 1845, Poll got so excited that, Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet, got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house.

Potential Vulgarities: Foul language, excessive drinking, Watergate scandal, alleged criminal activity, alleged election manipulation Notable Examples/Instances: President Richard Nixon was determined and broody, famously holding a press conference after losing the 1962 California gubernatorial election declaring: But as I leave you I want you to know - just think how much you’re going to be missing. You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because gentlemen, this is my last press conference… It wasn't, of course, and he was victorious in the presidential election of 1968. Nixon's presidency was dominated by the ongoing Vietnam War, Cold War politics, and high inflation. When Nixon ran for re-election in 1972, he won, but it later came to light that he may have been involved in a break-in at Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, during the months leading up to the election. An investigation into Nixon's potential involvement in the Watergate scandal was launched and the President's response was captured on recordings from conversations he had in the Oval Office. While discussing Watergate with advisors and members of his Cabinet. His affinity for expletives was clear and, the number of [EXPLETIVE DELETED] into transcripts numbered into the hundreds. While swear words were not new for Presidents of the United States, hearing them from the Commander-in-Chief was genuinely surprising to the masses. Alongside “barnyard language,” Nixon's thoughts about minorities (Blacks and Jews, for example), fellow politicians, and world goings-on became frighteningly clear. Nixon also drank heavily while he was president, notably slurring after two drinks. He also mixed them with sleeping pills and, according to California strategist Stu Spencer, He really got paranoid when he got three drinks in him. There are things I’m not even going to discuss that were said, but they were the result of drinking. He could not handle drink. In 1973, Nixon was too “loaded” (according to Henry Kissinger) to talk to the British Prime Minister about affairs in the Middle East but, as observers noted, Nixon's behavior was “irritable” from the outset of his presidency. John Osborne, White House correspondent from New Republic put it like this: Even in the first years of his presidency… reporters who followed and observed Nixon as closely as I tried to did so in part because, way down, there was a feeling that he might go bats in front of them at any time.

Potential Vulgarities: Public drunkenness Notable Examples/Instances: The extent to which alcohol had an effect on Andrew Johnson's life is a matter of debate, but there is at least one instance of public drunkenness that tarnished Johnson's image for life. At his vice presidential swearing-in ceremony on March 4, 1865, Johnson was noticeably drunk. The night before, Johnson had been drinking and, on the morning of the inauguration, he had several glasses of whiskey to help fend off a cold. When he gave a speech at the swearing-in, Johnson ranged from talking quietly to loud shouts, telling the group: I am a plebeian. I glory in it… I am a-going for to tell you here today, yes today, in this place, the people are everything… He continued rambling for about 20 minutes before ending his address with Bible in hand and said, “I kiss this Book in the face of my nation of the United States.” After the address, President Lincoln went to great lengths to defend Johnson, telling observers who called for him to resign: I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard. This was not the only alleged instance of Johnson being drunk in public, but distinguishing between truth and slander by his opponents is difficult to do.

Potential Vulgarities: Affair with a White House intern, lying Notable Examples/Instances: The affair between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky dominated much of Clinton's time in office, but the details of their relationship were especially crude. In an exchange between Lewinsky and members of the grand jury on August 20, 1998, she was asked, “Did you and the President ever engage in sexual relations using cigars?” She replied that they had but insisted it was just once. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr issued a report that included even more graphic details: According to Ms. Lewinsky: ‘[H]e was chewing on a cigar. And then he had the cigar in his hand and he was kind of looking at the cigar in… sort of a naughty way. And so… I looked at the cigar and I looked at him and I said, we can do that, too, some time.’ Later, the report noted: At one point, the President inserted a cigar into Ms. Lewinsky's vagina, then put the cigar in his mouth and said: ‘It tastes good.’ After they were finished, Ms. Lewinsky left the Oval Office and walked through the Rose Garden. Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Lewinsky matter in December 1998, but the Senate voted to acquit him of all charges in February 1999.