The times American presidents lied to the nation

President Donald Trump is often accused of having a complete disregard for the truth. Yet some of his predecessors have also lied their fair share, ranging from bizarre to horrifying lies. From James K. Polk lying to invade Mexico, to then-presidential candidate George H.W. Bush famously promising no new taxes, click on for some of the most infamous lies American presidents have ever told.

James K. Polk (1795–1849)

In 1846, Polk told Congress that Mexico had invaded the US, but this wasn't true. In fact, his administration had ordered American soldiers occupy an area in Mexico near the Texas border.

Then, when Mexican forces attacked the US soldiers, Polk claimed it was an attack against the US. This lie resulted in the Mexican-American War, which lasted until 1848.

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)

While Lincoln didn't tell complete lies, he wasn't always truthful. In response to rumors that he was about to meet with Confederate representatives in Washington in 1865, he told the House that no representatives were on their way to Washington.

William McKinley (1843–1901)

In 1898, McKinley declared Spain had attacked a US warship called the USS Maine in Cuba, killing 355 sailors. However, he had no evidence of this, and the cause of the sinking has never actually been proven.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)

In 1940, FDR promised the nation that "your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars." However, he was already preparing to enter WWII. His declaration was only an election promise in order to win over Wendell Willkie.

Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)

In August 1945, the Truman administration issued a press release after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, describing it as "an important military base."

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)

In 1960, Eisenhower dismissed claims that the US had flown spy planes over the Soviet Union after one of its planes was shot down. Thinking the pilot was killed, he approved a number of statements that said it was a weather plane.

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)

On October 20, 1962, JFK told the press he had a cold. The truth was he was dealing with a crisis. Intelligence agents had discovered that the Soviets were creating a missile base in Cuba.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973)

In 1964, Johnson said in a televised speech, "We still seek no wider war." This was in reference to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which North Vietnamese patrol boats had reportedly attacked US ships. In the same speech, he declared: "Aggression by terror against the peaceful villagers of South Vietnam has now been joined by open aggression on the high seas against the United States of America."

Richard Nixon (1913–1994)

In 1970, Nixon lied to the country about a US covert bombing campaign in Cambodia. After the bombings were made public, Nixon let people believe the attacks on Cambodia were over, but they weren't. In a memo, Nixon wrote, "This is what we will say publicly but now, let's talk about what we will actually do."

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)

In 1986, Reagan promised the nation, "We did not—repeat, did not—trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we." This was during the Iran-Contra Affair, where the US government secretly traded weapons with Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages being held by terrorists in Lebanon.

George H.W. Bush (1924–2018)

In 1988, then-Republican presidential nominee George H.W. Bush said, "Read my lips: No new taxes." At the time, this was seen as a successful political slogan.

Bill Clinton (1946-)

In 1998, Clinton said before a federal grand jury, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," referring to his intern Monica Lewinsky, with whom he did, in fact, have an affair.

George W. Bush (1946-)

Two months after the US invaded Iraq in 2003, George W. Bush claimed to have found weapons of mass destruction to justify the war. But they hadn't found anything.

Barack Obama (1961-)

In 2008, when Obama was pushing through his new Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, he promised people wouldn't need to change their plans if they didn't want to.

Donald Trump (1946-)

During his first time in office, Trump made more than 30,000 false or misleading statements. Some of his lies included his claim that the pandemic was "totally under control" and that Representative Ilhan Omar supported al-Qaeda.