With the arrival of Donald Trump imminent, it is only appropriate that we take a look at the 10 most corrupt US Presidents in history. The US Presidency is the most powerful office in the entire world; therefore, you would expect it to be held by someone with the highest moral values, unparalleled intelligence, and excellent personality. Unfortunately, that is how things would work if we lived in a dream world; the reality is quite different indeed.
While the US has had some excellent presidents, it has also had its fair share of corrupt or simply incompetent presidents. In fact, some of them have been so incompetent that the people thought only corruption could explain their actions rather than a lack of intelligence, a trend which I fear is set to continue with Donald Trump about to take office.
Many people believe that Trump is a much better choice than outgoing President Barack Obama. While Obama had his faults, namely his Middle East policies which have bloodied what would otherwise have been a great legacy, I cannot stress how much better it would be if Obama had four more years in charge instead of Trump.
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In fact, this presidential race has been an eye opener not just for Americans but the entire world. The two candidates who were running for the biggest office in the world were so universally disliked, it seems likely that contempt for Hillary Clinton was more decisive in Trump’s victory rather than the qualities of Trump. After all, she made millions delivering speeches to Wall Street firms, hired a top donor to the Clinton Foundation at a very sensitive position when she was Secretary of State, kept classified emails on a personal unsecured server and perhaps most importantly, she reduced security in Libya, which led to the death of four Americans, including the US Ambassador in Benghazi. Her husband is guilty of corruption as well, which is why he makes the list of 11 most corrupt US Presidents in history.
Now think about how bad Trump is when I say that even after all the aforementioned issues, Trump is still an infinitely worse choice than Hillary. This businessman may be worth billions, but that is due to morally ambiguous or outright deceit rather than savvy business acumen. In fact, Trump’s businesses have filed for bankruptcy an incredible six times. He established a university, creatively named Trump University, which was the defendant in multiple class action suits, which saw Trump settling for $25 million. We all know about his horrific campaign promises as well, from claiming that Mexico sends rapists to the US and promising to build a wall at the border, to suggesting that he would ban the arrival of Muslims in the country.
On the other hand, the presidents on this list could give Trump a run for his money. They have engaged in activities damaging to the country while profitable for them and their friends and had tenures the country would sooner forget. Believe it or not, despite their corrupt deeds some of them are also dubbed as the Most Successful Presidents of all Time. We have ranked them according to how often they would appear on the internet in articles discussing the most corrupt US Presidents, while also comparing their crimes. Let’s enjoy the ride taking us to the very worst America has chosen in its history! To the most corrupt US Presidents in history.
