By the Editors & Illustrators of PillartoPost.org--“Combative” is a matter of historical interpretation, not an officially measured presidential quality. Still, five presidents repeatedly stand out for treating politics as open warfare—with Congress, the press, powerful institutions or personal enemies. Presented chronologically, they are Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
ANDREW JACKSON, 1829–1837 Jackson entered the White House portraying himself as the defender of ordinary white Americans against bankers, political insiders and established privilege. His assault on the Second Bank of the United States became known as the “Bank War.” In 1834, the Senate censured him for assuming powers it considered unconstitutional. Jackson’s opponents formed the Whig Party partly in resistance to his expansion of presidential authority. A famous political cartoon depicted him trampling the Constitution beneath his feet under the title “King Andrew the First.” Jackson’s temper was not merely political theater. Before becoming president, he fought duels, carried bullets in his body and participated in numerous personal confrontations.
ANDREW JOHNSON, 1865–1869--No president before the modern era conducted his feuds so publicly or self-destructively. Johnson considered congressional opposition a personal betrayal and attacked prominent lawmakers by name. During his disastrous 1866 speaking tour, known as the “Swing Around the Circle,” Johnson argued with hecklers and delivered angry speeches denouncing his opponents. His continual warfare with the Republican-controlled Congress over Reconstruction and protections for formerly enslaved Americans culminated in his impeachment. The House of Representatives impeached Johnson in 1868. The Senate acquitted him by one vote, allowing him to complete his term. He was the first American president to be impeached.
HARRY S. TRUMAN, 1945–1953--Truman was combative without being consumed by conspiracy. His plainspoken 1948 campaign against what he called the Republican “do-nothing Congress” inspired supporters to shout, “Give ’em hell, Harry.” Truman fought publicly with Congress, labor leaders and the press. He fired General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War after the general publicly challenged the administration’s policy. Truman could also make disagreements intensely personal. After Washington Post critic Paul Hume criticized his daughter Margaret’s singing, Truman sent him a furious letter and warned that an encounter with the president could result in a black eye and a broken nose.
RICHARD NIXON, 1969–1974--Nixon’s combativeness was generally less visible in public than Johnson’s or Truman’s. Behind closed doors, however, Nixon divided the political world into loyalists and enemies. His administration maintained an “enemies list,” considered using federal agencies against opponents and created the White House “plumbers” to stop damaging information from reaching the press. Secret White House recordings revealed a president deeply suspicious of journalists, demonstrators and political adversaries. The Watergate scandal ultimately forced Nixon to resign rather than face almost certain impeachment and removal. He remains the only American president to have resigned from office.
DONALD TRUMP, 2017–2021 AND 2025–PRESENT--Trump made confrontation a central feature of presidential communication. He repeatedly attacked political opponents, judges, government officials and news organizations while using rallies and social media to maintain direct contact with supporters. Donald Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives but acquitted both times by the Senate. The first impeachment, in 2019, involved charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The second, in 2021, charged him with incitement of insurrection following the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In 2024, a New York jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He became the first former American president to be convicted of a felony and subsequently the first person with a felony conviction to serve as president. He received an unconditional discharge, meaning no imprisonment, fine or probation, and has appealed the conviction.
THE CLOSEST COMPARISON--Donald Trump has no exact presidential twin. Andrew Jackson supplies the populist rebellion against established institutions. Richard Nixon supplies the preoccupation with enemies and hostile news organizations. Harry Truman supplies the pugnacious language and willingness to strike back personally. But in relentless public combativeness, Trump’s closest predecessor may be Andrew Johnson. Both presidents treated opposition as something beyond ordinary political disagreement and carried their fights directly to the public. Johnson’s presidency demonstrated that continual combat can energize loyal supporters while hardening opposition and weakening a president’s ability to govern.
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