List of nicknames of United States Presidents

Presidents of the United States have often acquired nicknames, both flattering and unflattering. This list is intended to note those nicknames that were in common use at the time they were in office or shortly thereafter.

George Washington

* The American Cincinnatus: Like the famous Roman, he won a war, then became a private citizen instead of seeking power or riches as a reward. He became the first president general of the Society of the Cincinnati, formed by Revolutionary War officers who also "declined offers of power and position to return to his home and plough".
* The American Fabius for his Fabian military strategy during the Revolutionary War
* The Father of His Country

John Adams

* The Colossus of Independence for his leadership in Congress in 1776
* Old Sink or Swim, for the speech in which he vowed "sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am with my country from this day on."
* His Rotundity for his girthy bodily figure

Thomas Jefferson

* The Apostle of Democracy
* The Man of the People
* The Sage of Monticello

James Madison

* Little Jemmy or His Little Majesty: at only , the shortest U.S. president
* Father of the Constitution

James Monroe

* The Era of Good Feelings President for "The Era of Good Feelings", the period following the War of 1812, during which America became less divided politically, to the extent that the only opponents of the ruling Democratic Republicans, the Federalist Party, went out of existence. It was not until resistance to Andrew Jackson's policies produced the Whig Party that oppositional politics resumed in the United States.
* The Last Cocked Hat because he was the last U.S. president to wear a tricorne hat according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century.

John Quincy Adams

* Old Man Eloquent or The Abolitionist: famed for routinely bringing up the slavery issue against Congressional rules, and for his role later on in the ''Amistad'' case. He is the only American president to be elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency. The nickname gained currency as a result of his campaign against slavery waged as a congressman, and as the attorney in the Amistad case.

Andrew Jackson

* The Hero of New Orleans for his military victory in the Battle of New Orleans
* Old Hickory, allegedly given to him by his soldiers for being as "tough as old hickory"
* King Mob
* King Andrew for his supposedly excessive use of the veto power
* Jackass: Andrew Jackson's critics disparaged him as a "Jackass"; however, Jackson embraced the animal, making it the unofficial symbol of the Democratic Party.

Martin Van Buren

* The American Talleyrand
* The Careful Dutchman: Van Buren's first language was Dutch.
* The Enchanter
* The Great Manager
* The Master Spirit
* Martin Van Ruin
* Matty Van from "Tippecanoe Songs of 1840"
* The Mistletoe Politician, so called by Joseph Peyton of Tennessee, a Whig opponent, who charged that "Martin Van Buren was a mere political parasite, a branch of mistletoe, that owed its elevation, its growth--nay, its very existence, to the tall trunk of an aged hickory" (i.e. Andrew Jackson).
* Old Kinderhook (OK), a reference to his home town
* Red Fox of Kinderhook, a reference to his red hair and home town
* The Little Magician: given to him during his time in the state of New York, because of his smooth politics and short stature

William Henry Harrison

* General Mum, as in the expression, "keep it mum," because of his avoidance of speaking out on controversial issues during his election campaign
* Tippecanoe or also Old Tippecanoe, a reference to Harrison's victory at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe; used in the campaign song Tippecanoe and Tyler Too during the 1840 presidential election
* Washington of the West, a reference to Harrison's victories at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and 1813 Battle of the Thames

John Tyler

* His Accidency, a nickname given by his opponents; the first president to be elevated to the presidency by the death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison

James K. Polk

* Napoleon of the Stump for his short stature and potent oratory skills
* Young Hickory because he was a particular protégé of "Old Hickory", Andrew Jackson

Zachary Taylor

* Old Rough and Ready

Millard Fillmore

* The American Louis Philippe

Franklin Pierce

* Young Hickory of the Granite Hills: "Young Hickory" compared his military deeds (in the Mexican–American War) with those of Andrew Jackson. "The Granite Hills" were his home state of New Hampshire
* Handsome Frank

James Buchanan

* Old Public Functionary, used by Buchanan in his December 1859 State of the Union address and adopted by newspapers
* Old Buck, from a shortening of his last name, used later in life
* Bachelor President, per his unmarried status
* Ten-Cent Jimmy: derogatory, as a reaction to Buchanan's campaign statement that ten cents a day was decent pay for a worker

Abraham Lincoln

* The Ancient One,
Association of Lincoln Presenters, Lincoln Quotes, "LINCOLN had many nicknames such as Honest Abe, the Railsplitter, the Liberator, the Emancipator, the Ancient One, the Martyr". a nickname favored by White House insiders because of his "ancient wisdom"
* The Great Emancipator and The Liberator for the emancipation of the slaves
* Honest Abe
* The Rail-Splitter
* The Tycoon, for the energetic and ambitious conduct of his Civil War administration
* Uncle Abe for his avuncularity in his later years

Andrew Johnson

* The Tennessee Tailor for his career as a tailor before going into politics

Ulysses S. Grant

* Uncle Sam Grant, a name given to him by his classmates at West Point
* Unconditional Surrender Grant, a backronym for his uncompromising demand for unconditional surrender during the Battle of Fort Donelson in 1862, which made him a hero

Rutherford B. Hayes

* Rutherfraud or His Fraudulency, because after the disputed results of the 1876 Election, many Democrats did not consider him legitimately to be president

James Garfield

* Boatman Jim, referencing his work on the Ohio canals in his youth
* Preacher President

Chester A. Arthur

* Chet, shortened version of his name used by publications of that era
* Gentleman Boss, as the dapper leader of New York State's Republican party
* Prince Arthur and The Dude President for his fancy attire and indulgence in extravagant luxury

Grover Cleveland

* His Obstinacy; he vetoed more bills than the first 21 presidents combined
* Uncle Jumbo
* Grover the Good for his honesty and public integrity

Benjamin Harrison

* The Front Porch Campaigner; during the 1888 election, he gave nearly ninety speeches from his front porch to crowds gathered in the yard of his Indianapolis home; this nickname has been widely but erroneously attributed to William McKinley
* The Human Iceberg, although he could warmly engage a crowd with his speeches, he was cold and detached when speaking with people on an individual basis
* Little Ben, given to him by Democrats of his era because of his stature; this could also be a reference to his being the grandson of former president William Henry Harrison, who had served fifty years before

William McKinley

* The Napoleon of Protection, referring to high tariffs such as the one he wrote in 1890
* Big Bill

Theodore Roosevelt

* The Hero of San Juan Hill for leading his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill during the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898
* The Lion
* Teddy: Used in ''The New York Times'' at least as early as 1900, even though he hated the nickname
* TR for signing communications this way; perhaps the first president to be known by his initials
* The Trust Buster, so called as a pioneer of busting business trusts
* The Colonel, for his rank in the Spanish–American War

William Howard Taft

* Big Chief
* Big Lub, boyhood nickname

Woodrow Wilson

* The Phrasemaker: as an acclaimed historian, Wilson had no need of speech-writers to supply his oratorical eloquence
* The Schoolmaster: a bespectacled academic who lectured his visitors

Warren G. Harding

* Wobbly Warren

Calvin Coolidge

* Cautious Cal
* Cool Cal: His reelection campaign used the slogan, "Keep It Cool With Coolidge"
* Silent Cal

Herbert Hoover

* The Great Engineer and The Great Humanitarian: He was a civil engineer of some distinction and when the Mississippi burst its banks in 1927, engulfing thousands of acres of agricultural land, he volunteered his services and did extensive flood control work. The latter nickname would later be used facetiously in reference to his perceived indifference to the hardships faced by his constituents during the Great Depression. However, the nickname dates back to 1921, when the ARA under Hoover saved millions of Russians suffering from famine. "It was such considerations that Walter Lippmann took into account when he wrote of Hoover's Russian undertaking in the New York World in May 1922: 'probably no other living man could have done nearly so much.'"
* The Chief, a nickname picked up at 23 as a geologist surveying in the Australian Outback, that stuck for the rest of his life

Franklin D. Roosevelt

* FDR
* That Man in the White House
*Sphinx

Harry S. Truman

* Give 'Em Hell Harry (also a campaign slogan)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

* Ike, known for being in his campaign slogan "I like Ike"

John F. Kennedy

* Jack, Kennedy was usually referred to as either "John F. Kennedy" or "Jack Kennedy"
* JFK, most prominent nickname and abbreviation of his full name

Lyndon B. Johnson

* Bullshit Johnson (Bull Johnson in public) for his reputation for boasting at Southwest Texas State Teachers College
* Landslide Lyndon, ironic reference to the Box 13 scandal, a hotly disputed 87-vote win that put him into the Senate in 1948, which became more appropriate in his supporters' eyes following his victory in the 1964 presidential election
* Light-Bulb Lyndon, because he hated wasting electricity, and would often storm around the White House shutting off unnecessary lights
* LBJ; he liked to be known by this abbreviation, which was used in the campaign slogan, "All the way with LBJ"; later it would be used in the Anti-Vietnam War political slogan "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"

Richard Nixon

* Tricky Dick, from a Democratic Party ad leading up to the 1950 U.S. Senate election in California saying "Look at 'Tricky Dick' Nixon's Republican Record"

Gerald Ford

* Jerry
* Mr. Nice Guy for his clean-cut and non-partisan image

Jimmy Carter

* Jimmy, the first president to use his nickname in an official capacity, rather than his first name James.
* The Peanut Farmer, he owned a peanut farm and fostered this image in his early campaigns, as a contrast to elite Washington insiders

Ronald Reagan

* Dutch: shortly after his birth, his father said he looked like a "fat little Dutchman"; reinforced when he wore a Dutch boy haircut (see pageboy) as a youngster
* The Great Communicator for his ability to communicate
* The Gipper, after his role as George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film '' Knute Rockne, All American''. Gipp exhorted his teammates to "Win one for the Gipper".
* The Teflon President, coined by Rep. Patricia Schroeder because nothing negative "stuck to" him (like a Teflon skillet); he remained blame-free in the eyes of the American people

George H. W. Bush

* 41, Papa Bush, Bush 41, Bush Senior, Senior, and similar names that were used after his son George W. Bush became the 43rd president, to differentiate between the two
* Poppy, a nickname used from childhood on

Bill Clinton

* Bubba, common nickname for males in the Southern U.S.
* Slick Willie, a term originally coined when he was Governor of Arkansas and popularized by newspaper ''Pine Bluff Commercial'', whose staff disagreed with his political views.
* The Comeback Kid, coined by press after strong second place showing in 1992 New Hampshire primary, following polling slump
* The First Black President, used by Toni Morrison in reference to the African-American tropes surrounding Clinton's candidacy
* The Big Dog, used by several media outlets in regard to his post-presidential popularity

George W. Bush

* 43, Bush Jr., Junior, Bush 43, and similar names, used to differentiate him from his father
* Dubya, or Dumb Dubyah, based on a Texas pronunciation of " W"

Barack Obama

* No Drama Obama, for his cautious and meticulous presidential campaign in 2007–08 and for his patient, relaxed demeanor
* Deporter in Chief, for deporting more than 3 million undocumented immigrants during his administration, more than any of his predecessors

Donald Trump

* The Donald since his first wife Ivana Trump referred to him as such in a 1989 ''Spy'' magazine cover story
* 45, the 45, and similar names, referencing his being the 45th president, and his penchant for wearing monogrammed "45" apparel
* Conspiracy Theorist-in-Chief, for his penchant for promoting conspiracy theories
* President Snowflake and Snowflake-in-Chief using the term " Snowflake", for his poor reactions to criticism, particularly on Twitter and regarding the Mueller probe and related investigations
* Donald Drumpf, popularized by British-American comedian John Oliver in a segment of his show
* The Great MAGA King, used by Joe Biden in 2022 during a fundraiser.

Joe Biden

* Amtrak Joe, from his association with Amtrak trains, which he would use to commute to Washington, D.C.
* Brandon, Dark Brandon or Joe Brandon, based on the anti-Biden political slogan " Let's Go Brandon".
* Diamond Joe, became common usage from portrayals of Joe Biden in the satirical magazine '' The Onion''
* Middle Class Joe, from his being the poorest United States Senator
* Sleepy Joe, and Sloppy Joe, pejorative nickname used by opponent Donald Trump and his supporters, most prominently in the 2020 United States presidential election, to attack Biden as 'mentally slow'
* Uncle Joe and Uncle-in-Chief, also derived from portrayals in ''The Onion''

See also

*
* List of nicknames of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
* List of nicknames of prime ministers of Australia
* List of nicknames used by George W. Bush
* List of nicknames used by Donald Trump

Notes

:1. He has gained fame around the world as a quintessential example of a benevolent national founder. Gordon Wood concludes that the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies—an act that stunned aristocratic Europe. The earliest known image in which Washington is identified as such is on the cover of the circa 1778 Pennsylvania German almanac (Lancaster: Gedruckt bey Francis Bailey).
:2. Compare to Italian Prime Minister (and former President of the European Commission) Romano Prodi's nickname Il Professore (the professor/schoolteacher).

References

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