no president has ever been perfect
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
embarrassing u.s. presidential moments
hey expres the United States you better
be careful what you say for this list
we’re taking a look at some of the most
politically embarrassing incidents
suffered by u.s. presidents throughout
American history note that we’re talking
much more serious incidents than a
politician just trippin downstairs or
having to dodge shoes number ten the
mission accomplished speech george w
bush major combat operations in Iraq
have ended in the Battle of Iraq the
United States and our allies have
prevailed in what many deemed an
expensive publicity stunt
President Bush landed on the USS Abraham
Lincoln on an Air Force jet to announce
the conclusion of major combat in the
Iraq war Bush then delivered a televised
address in front of a banner that
featured the words mission accomplished
in this battle we have fought for the
cause of Liberty and for the Peace of
the world while defense secretary Donald
Rumsfeld had hastily edited out any
mention of mission accomplished from
President Bush’s speech the image of
that banner will forever be burned in
the minds of citizens and the media
alike the mission was far from over as
the US did not fully remove military
personnel from Iraq until December 2011
I regret that
you know that sign was there it was a
sign aimed at the sailors on that ship
however it conveyed a broader knowledge
number-9 the Embargo Act Thomas
Jefferson the American public was upset
at Britain after the English forcibly
took more than 10,000 American sailors
in the Royal Navy which blatantly
disregarded America’s international
position as a neutral nation frustrated
President Jefferson
approved the Embargo Act of 1807 to
prevent all American exports abroad
thinking it would punish the European
power
sted it failed miserably almost
immediately unemployment rose and port
regions rapidly faced economic
depression the embargo act immediately
disappeared with the end of Jefferson’s
presidency in 1809 number 8 the
internment of japanese-americans
Franklin D Roosevelt when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor our West Coast
became a potential combat zone living in
that zone were more than a hundred
thousand persons of Japanese NZ
two-thirds of them American citizens
one-third aliens after President
Roosevelt signed executive order 9066
the u.s. detained more than 110,000
japanese-americans
out of fear that they may empathize with
Japan’s military cause during world war
ii more than 60% of those interned were
US citizens I’m an American citizen
what did I do wrong you know it was the
lowest point the first night was the
lowest point in my life I would say many
japanese-americans were still in these
camps after the war’s end it wasn’t
until 1988 that surviving victims of
this terrible moment in US history began
to be paid $20,000 apiece in reparations
a minor sum in comparison to the
property losses forced unemployment and
human rights abuses they faced the rapid
speculation on the train he said that
everybody was afraid that what was going
to happen to them was they were going to
stop the train in the middle desert they
were going to be taken in the middle of
desert and shot just like they were
doing to the Jews
number seven the iran-contra affair
Ronald Reagan for the past three months
I’ve been silent on the revelations
about Iran and you must have been
thinking about why doesn’t he tell us
what’s happening why doesn’t he just
speak to us as he has in the past when
we’ve faced troubles or tragedies others
of you I guess were thinking what’s he
doing hiding out in the White House as a
staunch conservative president Reagan
was not pleased with Nicaragua’s leftist
sandanista government determined to
topple this political regime he
orchestrated the illegal selling of
military arms to Iran and diverted the
funds to the Contras a right-wing
Nicaraguan military movement based out
of Honduras to do nothing in Central
America is to give the first communist
stronghold on the North American
continent a green light to spread its
poison throughout this free and
increasingly democratically reagan
knowingly bypassed a US embargo on Iran
and a funding ban on the Contras once
these events came to light Reagan was
quickly embroiled in one of his most
controversial political moments while
there were congressional hearings Reagan
was able to continue his presidency
there are reasons why it happened but no
excuses it was a mistake number six the
espionage and Sedition Acts Woodrow
Wilson
President Wilson passed the Espionage
Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918
these acts severely curtailed American
freedom of speech during World War one
and launched the u.s. into its first Red
Scare the acts legally backed the Palmer
Raids of 1919 and 1920 and during this
time many foreign Communists and
anarchists residing in the u.s. were
deported the political environment
created by these acts caused many
American citizens to be viewed as
enemies of the state simply due to their
political beliefs or even ethnic
backgrounds number five the Lewinsky
scandal and impeachment Bill Clinton I
want you to listen to me I’m going to
say this again
I did not have sexual relations with
that woman miss Lewinsky I never told
anybody to lie not a single time never
while President Clinton was not the
first president to have had a publicly
known extramarital affair he was the
first to face an impeachment trial in
the 20th century due to his infidelities
Clinton had an affair with White House
intern Monica Lewinsky there was this
charismatic powerful man who who is
standing there showing interest in me
and I was attracted to him and I I think
I was swept up you know with the with
the power of the presidency Pentagon
employee Linda Tripp secretly recorded
her phone conversations with Lewinsky
wherein she revealed intimate details of
the affair and trip turned these tapes
over to an independent counsel which was
already investigating Clinton on other
matters the resulting impeachment trial
was the most sensationalized media
moment of Clinton’s presidency while
Clinton was impeached he was ultimately
acquitted of all charges and completed
his final presidential term I asked you
to turn away from the spectacle of the
past seven months to repair the fabric
of our national discourse and to return
our attention to all the challenges and
all the promise of the next American
Century number for his presidency James
Buchanan many tend to view Buchanan as
being the worst president in American
history
you cannon did little to lessen the rift
between the north and south leading up
to the American Civil War he was more
concerned with expanding the boundaries
of the United States and seemed content
with merely confining slavery to the
States and newly absorbed territories
that practiced it you cannon never ran
for a second term and was succeeded by
Abraham Lincoln a month after he left
office the United States descended into
civil war
have made plain to both northerners and
southerners the terrible character of
the war that was approaching
and he did not he presumably could not
grasp it himself number three the Bay of
Pigs invasion John F Kennedy a nation of
Cuba’s size is less a threat to our
survival than it is a base for
subverting the survival of other free
nations throughout the hemisphere on
April 17 1961 the CIA backed a
paramilitary force of anti-castro Cuban
expats intended to invade Cuba and
overthrow Fidel Castro’s left-wing
communist government but the insurgency
failed miserably while the plan was
hatched under the Eisenhower
administration the newly elected JFK
approved of its implementation during
his presidency
immediately after the failed invasion
Cuba more openly shifted their
allegiance to the Soviet Union
embarrassed and furious Kennedy openly
criticized the debacle and famously
declared that he wanted to take the CIA
and scatter it to the winds the
advantages of a police state its use of
mass terror and arrest to prevent the
spread of pre defense cannot be
overlooked by those who expect the fall
of every fanatic tyranny number two the
Alien and Sedition Acts John Adams
president is hereby empowered to
designate his alien enemies any citizens
or subjects of hostile nations residing
in the United States his presence he
regards as dangerous after the French
Revolution the fledgling US government
shifted their international interests in
favor of Britain in retaliation France
started to seize American trader ships
and rebuked the US minister to France
aggravated at what has become known as
the quasi-war
President Adams signed four bills into
law that suppress political dissidents
and threatened deportation of foreigners
not aligned with US policy and the Alien
and Sedition Acts were four laws that
essentially prevent
people from criticizing the government
the acts fiercely divided American
politics and ultimately Adams was not
re-elected for a second term if you’re
gonna violate an amendment don’t violate
the First Amendment before we get to our
number one most embarrassing
presidential moment here are some
honorable or in this case dishonorable
mentions
I am as frustrated and angry as anyone
with the flawed launch of healthcare.gov
so let me say directly to these
Americans
you deserve better I apologize the
people were ticked off all right to the
point of violence tax collectors were
tarred and feathered by angry gangs the
rebels formed a militia conquered
Pittsburgh and would have burned it down
except the locals gave him free whiskey
to hold them off
number one the Watergate scandal and
resignation Richard Nixon I welcome this
kind of examination because people have
got to know whether or not their
presidents a crook well I’m not a crook
I earned everything I’ve got many
presidents have survived a wide variety
of political mistakes and abuses of
power but not President Nixon in the
hopes of guaranteeing his re-election in
1972 Nixon and members of his
administration authorized the
wiretapping of the Democratic Party’s
headquarters the plot came to light when
five conspirators bungled the break-in
after denying his involvement and using
the CIA FBI and IRS to bully political
opponents it was discovered that the
Nixon administration was directly
involved rather than face impeachment he
became the first u.s. president to
resign from office and leaving it I do
so with this prayer
may God’s grace be with you and all the
days ahead do you agree with our list
what do you think is the most
embarrassing u.s. presidential moment
for more excellent top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com and all of my years of
public life I have never obstructed
justice
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
embarrassing u.s. presidential moments
hey expres the United States you better
be careful what you say for this list
we’re taking a look at some of the most
politically embarrassing incidents
suffered by u.s. presidents throughout
American history note that we’re talking
much more serious incidents than a
politician just trippin downstairs or
having to dodge shoes number ten the
mission accomplished speech george w
bush major combat operations in Iraq
have ended in the Battle of Iraq the
United States and our allies have
prevailed in what many deemed an
expensive publicity stunt
President Bush landed on the USS Abraham
Lincoln on an Air Force jet to announce
the conclusion of major combat in the
Iraq war Bush then delivered a televised
address in front of a banner that
featured the words mission accomplished
in this battle we have fought for the
cause of Liberty and for the Peace of
the world while defense secretary Donald
Rumsfeld had hastily edited out any
mention of mission accomplished from
President Bush’s speech the image of
that banner will forever be burned in
the minds of citizens and the media
alike the mission was far from over as
the US did not fully remove military
personnel from Iraq until December 2011
I regret that
you know that sign was there it was a
sign aimed at the sailors on that ship
however it conveyed a broader knowledge
number-9 the Embargo Act Thomas
Jefferson the American public was upset
at Britain after the English forcibly
took more than 10,000 American sailors
in the Royal Navy which blatantly
disregarded America’s international
position as a neutral nation frustrated
President Jefferson
approved the Embargo Act of 1807 to
prevent all American exports abroad
thinking it would punish the European
power
sted it failed miserably almost
immediately unemployment rose and port
regions rapidly faced economic
depression the embargo act immediately
disappeared with the end of Jefferson’s
presidency in 1809 number 8 the
internment of japanese-americans
Franklin D Roosevelt when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor our West Coast
became a potential combat zone living in
that zone were more than a hundred
thousand persons of Japanese NZ
two-thirds of them American citizens
one-third aliens after President
Roosevelt signed executive order 9066
the u.s. detained more than 110,000
japanese-americans
out of fear that they may empathize with
Japan’s military cause during world war
ii more than 60% of those interned were
US citizens I’m an American citizen
what did I do wrong you know it was the
lowest point the first night was the
lowest point in my life I would say many
japanese-americans were still in these
camps after the war’s end it wasn’t
until 1988 that surviving victims of
this terrible moment in US history began
to be paid $20,000 apiece in reparations
a minor sum in comparison to the
property losses forced unemployment and
human rights abuses they faced the rapid
speculation on the train he said that
everybody was afraid that what was going
to happen to them was they were going to
stop the train in the middle desert they
were going to be taken in the middle of
desert and shot just like they were
doing to the Jews
number seven the iran-contra affair
Ronald Reagan for the past three months
I’ve been silent on the revelations
about Iran and you must have been
thinking about why doesn’t he tell us
what’s happening why doesn’t he just
speak to us as he has in the past when
we’ve faced troubles or tragedies others
of you I guess were thinking what’s he
doing hiding out in the White House as a
staunch conservative president Reagan
was not pleased with Nicaragua’s leftist
sandanista government determined to
topple this political regime he
orchestrated the illegal selling of
military arms to Iran and diverted the
funds to the Contras a right-wing
Nicaraguan military movement based out
of Honduras to do nothing in Central
America is to give the first communist
stronghold on the North American
continent a green light to spread its
poison throughout this free and
increasingly democratically reagan
knowingly bypassed a US embargo on Iran
and a funding ban on the Contras once
these events came to light Reagan was
quickly embroiled in one of his most
controversial political moments while
there were congressional hearings Reagan
was able to continue his presidency
there are reasons why it happened but no
excuses it was a mistake number six the
espionage and Sedition Acts Woodrow
Wilson
President Wilson passed the Espionage
Act in 1917 and the Sedition Act in 1918
these acts severely curtailed American
freedom of speech during World War one
and launched the u.s. into its first Red
Scare the acts legally backed the Palmer
Raids of 1919 and 1920 and during this
time many foreign Communists and
anarchists residing in the u.s. were
deported the political environment
created by these acts caused many
American citizens to be viewed as
enemies of the state simply due to their
political beliefs or even ethnic
backgrounds number five the Lewinsky
scandal and impeachment Bill Clinton I
want you to listen to me I’m going to
say this again
I did not have sexual relations with
that woman miss Lewinsky I never told
anybody to lie not a single time never
while President Clinton was not the
first president to have had a publicly
known extramarital affair he was the
first to face an impeachment trial in
the 20th century due to his infidelities
Clinton had an affair with White House
intern Monica Lewinsky there was this
charismatic powerful man who who is
standing there showing interest in me
and I was attracted to him and I I think
I was swept up you know with the with
the power of the presidency Pentagon
employee Linda Tripp secretly recorded
her phone conversations with Lewinsky
wherein she revealed intimate details of
the affair and trip turned these tapes
over to an independent counsel which was
already investigating Clinton on other
matters the resulting impeachment trial
was the most sensationalized media
moment of Clinton’s presidency while
Clinton was impeached he was ultimately
acquitted of all charges and completed
his final presidential term I asked you
to turn away from the spectacle of the
past seven months to repair the fabric
of our national discourse and to return
our attention to all the challenges and
all the promise of the next American
Century number for his presidency James
Buchanan many tend to view Buchanan as
being the worst president in American
history
you cannon did little to lessen the rift
between the north and south leading up
to the American Civil War he was more
concerned with expanding the boundaries
of the United States and seemed content
with merely confining slavery to the
States and newly absorbed territories
that practiced it you cannon never ran
for a second term and was succeeded by
Abraham Lincoln a month after he left
office the United States descended into
civil war
have made plain to both northerners and
southerners the terrible character of
the war that was approaching
and he did not he presumably could not
grasp it himself number three the Bay of
Pigs invasion John F Kennedy a nation of
Cuba’s size is less a threat to our
survival than it is a base for
subverting the survival of other free
nations throughout the hemisphere on
April 17 1961 the CIA backed a
paramilitary force of anti-castro Cuban
expats intended to invade Cuba and
overthrow Fidel Castro’s left-wing
communist government but the insurgency
failed miserably while the plan was
hatched under the Eisenhower
administration the newly elected JFK
approved of its implementation during
his presidency
immediately after the failed invasion
Cuba more openly shifted their
allegiance to the Soviet Union
embarrassed and furious Kennedy openly
criticized the debacle and famously
declared that he wanted to take the CIA
and scatter it to the winds the
advantages of a police state its use of
mass terror and arrest to prevent the
spread of pre defense cannot be
overlooked by those who expect the fall
of every fanatic tyranny number two the
Alien and Sedition Acts John Adams
president is hereby empowered to
designate his alien enemies any citizens
or subjects of hostile nations residing
in the United States his presence he
regards as dangerous after the French
Revolution the fledgling US government
shifted their international interests in
favor of Britain in retaliation France
started to seize American trader ships
and rebuked the US minister to France
aggravated at what has become known as
the quasi-war
President Adams signed four bills into
law that suppress political dissidents
and threatened deportation of foreigners
not aligned with US policy and the Alien
and Sedition Acts were four laws that
essentially prevent
people from criticizing the government
the acts fiercely divided American
politics and ultimately Adams was not
re-elected for a second term if you’re
gonna violate an amendment don’t violate
the First Amendment before we get to our
number one most embarrassing
presidential moment here are some
honorable or in this case dishonorable
mentions
I am as frustrated and angry as anyone
with the flawed launch of healthcare.gov
so let me say directly to these
Americans
you deserve better I apologize the
people were ticked off all right to the
point of violence tax collectors were
tarred and feathered by angry gangs the
rebels formed a militia conquered
Pittsburgh and would have burned it down
except the locals gave him free whiskey
to hold them off
number one the Watergate scandal and
resignation Richard Nixon I welcome this
kind of examination because people have
got to know whether or not their
presidents a crook well I’m not a crook
I earned everything I’ve got many
presidents have survived a wide variety
of political mistakes and abuses of
power but not President Nixon in the
hopes of guaranteeing his re-election in
1972 Nixon and members of his
administration authorized the
wiretapping of the Democratic Party’s
headquarters the plot came to light when
five conspirators bungled the break-in
after denying his involvement and using
the CIA FBI and IRS to bully political
opponents it was discovered that the
Nixon administration was directly
involved rather than face impeachment he
became the first u.s. president to
resign from office and leaving it I do
so with this prayer
may God’s grace be with you and all the
days ahead do you agree with our list
what do you think is the most
embarrassing u.s. presidential moment
for more excellent top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com and all of my years of
public life I have never obstructed
justice
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