When Jay-Z rhymed he was out for presidents to represent him, this is not what he had in mind. We'd love to say we've come so far but Donald Trump referred to Haiti and African nations as shithole countries not long ago. That wasn't abhorrent enough to make the list but no worries, our 45 and 47th president is still represented.
7. “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” 一 Joe Biden, 2006
That’s kind of wild, considering America runs on Dunkin’, and some of the most well-known ambassadors for the brand are white men from Boston.
6. “I’ll have those n**gers voting Democratic for the next 200 years.” 一 Lyndon B. Johnson
Here’s a pro tip, political science majors: don’t use a racist slur when talking about people you’re asking to vote for you, okay?
5. “It is of incalculable importance that America, Australia, and Siberia should pass out of the hands of their red, black and yellow aboriginal owners,” 一 Theodore Roosevelt, “The Winning of the West, Vol. 4”
Displacing and forcibly removing indigenous people from their native lands? Teddy, you were definitely cooking but in a crazy, racist way, and that is just not it.
4. “Laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that.” — Donald Trump
And filing bankruptcy six times is a trait of a bad businessman. It really is, we believe that.
3. “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.” 一 Abraham Lincoln
Abolishing slavery doesn’t make him a decent, moral person if equality is off the table. People should really sing his praises less.
2. “I think one man is just as good as another so long as he’s not a n*gger or a Chinaman. Uncle Will says that the Lord made a White man from dust, a n*gger from mud, then He threw up what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice, I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion Negroes ought to be in Africa, Yellow men in Asia and White men in Europe and America.” — Harry Truman
Hard Hittin’ Harry took office after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s passing and became the 33rd U.S. president. He made some tough decisions, dropping an Atomic bomb on Hiroshima the most difficult of those hard calls. He botched some really easy ones, though, like not being racist.
1. “I have lived among negroes, all my life, and I am for this Government with slavery under the Constitution as it is. I am for the Government of my fathers with negroes. I am for it without negroes. Before I would see this Government destroyed I would send every negro back to Africa, disintegrated and blotted out of space.” 一 Andrew Johnson
Slotted as president after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson wanted to center white supremacy. His utopian state was simple: slaves are always a good idea and fights against the “Africanization” of America.
LEVEL Editors