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Which US Presidents Do You Wish Were In Charge Right Now?

April 9, 2020 454.7k votes 33.9k voters 133.3k views44 items

List RulesVote up the commanders in chief you think could provide the most competent and, yes, commanding leadership during a global pandemic.

The presidency involves plenty of responsibilities both practical and symbolic. That means anyone elected to this august office ends up praised for things they didn't actually do and condemned for things that aren't actually their responsibility. By all accounts, that's part of the job. Still, the sometimes-fickle, sometimes-accurate sentiments of the American public mean that popular presidents could wield Mjolnir like a superhero while unpopular presidents are subject to endless scrutiny and debate.

In the midst of a pandemic that has disrupted life around the world, it's worth asking just which former (or current) presidents the populace wishes could handle the crisis. If you could wave a magic wand, would you want someone to provide moral and spiritual comfort even if they come from a time before germ theory? Or would you hope for someone with the ability to mobilize a coherent and competent international effort in the tradition of a 20th or 21st century wartime president?

  • 1
    12,090
    4,348

    Theodore Roosevelt

    Dec. at 61 (1858-1919)

    Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America

    Presidency: 26

    V.P.: Charles W. Fairbanks

  • 2
    13,477
    4,858

    Abraham Lincoln

    Dec. at 56 (1809-1865)

    Birthplace: Hodgenville, Kentucky, United States of America

    Presidency: 16

    V.P.: Andrew Johnson, Hannibal Hamlin

  • 3
    13,935
    5,423

    John F. Kennedy

    Dec. at 46 (1917-1963)

    Birthplace: Brookline, Massachusetts, United States of America

    Presidency: 35

    V.P.: Lyndon B. Johnson

  • 4
    14,206
    5,618

    Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Dec. at 63 (1882-1945)

    Birthplace: Hyde Park, New York, United States of America

    Presidency: 32

    V.P.: John Nance Garner, Henry A. Wallace, Harry S. Truman

  • 5
    9,472
    5,047

    George Washington

    Dec. at 67 (1732-1799)

    Birthplace: Virginia, United States of America

    Presidency: 1

    V.P.: John Adams

  • 6
    7,906
    4,614

    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Dec. at 79 (1890-1969)

    Birthplace: Denison, Texas, United States of America

    Presidency: 34

    V.P.: Richard Nixon

  • 7
    11,890
    7,410

    Ronald Reagan

    Dec. at 93 (1911-2004)

    Birthplace: Tampico, Illinois, United States of America

    Presidency: 40

    V.P.: George H. W. Bush

  • 8
    19,388
    12,769

    Barack Obama

    Age: 59

    Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America

    Presidency: 44

    V.P.: Joe Biden

  • 9
    6,223
    5,285

    Thomas Jefferson

    Dec. at 83 (1743-1826)

    Birthplace: Shadwell, Virginia, United States of America

    Presidency: 3

    V.P.: Aaron Burr, George Clinton

  • 10
    4,837
    6,180

    Harry Truman

    Dec. at 88 (1884-1972)

    Birthplace: Lamar, Missouri, United States of America

    Presidency: 33

    V.P.: Alben W. Barkley

  • 11
    4,188
    6,221

    Ulysses S. Grant

    Dec. at 63 (1822-1885)

    Birthplace: Point Pleasant, Ohio, United States of America

    Presidency: 18

    V.P.: Schuyler Colfax, Henry Wilson

  • 12
    5,801
    8,752

    Jimmy Carter

    Age: 96

    Birthplace: Georgia, USA, Plains

    Presidency: 39

    V.P.: Walter Mondale

  • 13
    6,319
    10,537

    Bill Clinton

    Age: 74

    Birthplace: Hope, Arkansas, USA

    Presidency: 42

    V.P.: Al Gore

  • 14
    3,372
    5,832

    John Adams

    Dec. at 91 (1735-1826)

    Birthplace: Braintree, Massachusetts, United States of America

    Presidency: 2

    V.P.: Thomas Jefferson

  • 15
    4,617
    8,369

    George H. W. Bush

    Age: 96

    Birthplace: Milton, Massachusetts, United States of America

    Presidency: 41

    V.P.: Dan Quayle

  • 16
    4,964
    9,339

    George W. Bush

    Age: 74

    Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

    Presidency: 43

    V.P.: Dick Cheney

  • 17
    9,348
    18,420

    Donald Trump

  • 18
    2,677
    5,466

    James Madison

    Dec. at 85 (1751-1836)

    Birthplace: Port Conway, Virginia, United States of America

    Presidency: 4

    V.P.: Elbridge Gerry, George Clinton

  • 19
    2,796
    6,827

    Andrew Jackson

    Dec. at 78 (1767-1845)

    Birthplace: Waxhaws

    Presidency: 7

    V.P.: Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun

  • 20
    2,158
    5,364

    John Quincy Adams

    Dec. at 81 (1767-1848)

    Birthplace: Braintree, Massachusetts, United States of America

    Presidency: 6

    V.P.: John C. Calhoun

  • 21
    1,947
    4,883

    James Monroe

    Dec. at 73 (1758-1831)

    Birthplace: Monroe Hall, Virginia, United States of America

    Presidency: 5

    V.P.: Daniel D. Tompkins

  • 22
    2,812
    7,080

    Lyndon Johnson

    Dec. at 65 (1908-1973)

    Birthplace: Stonewall, Texas, United States of America

    Presidency: 36

    V.P.: Hubert Humphrey

  • 23
    2,354
    5,977

    Gerald Ford

    Dec. at 93 (1913-2006)

    Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, USA

    Presidency: 38

    V.P.: Nelson Rockefeller

  • 24
    2,267
    6,007

    Woodrow Wilson

    Dec. at 68 (1856-1924)

    Birthplace: Virginia, United States of America

    Presidency: 28

    V.P.: Thomas R. Marshall

  • 25
    1,876
    5,011

    Calvin Coolidge

    Dec. at 61 (1872-1933)

    Birthplace: Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Vermont, United States of America

    Presidency: 30

    V.P.: Charles G. Dawes

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