Theodore Roosevelt revered Abraham Lincoln so much that, during his second inauguration, he wore a ring containing a lock of Lincoln’s hair. His feelings toward other presidents, however, were a little less warm and fuzzy. TR thought William Howard Taft was a “puzzlewit,” Woodrow Wilson was a “lily-livered skunk,” and Benjamin Harrison was a “cold-blooded, narrow-minded, prejudiced, obstinate, timid old psalm-singing Indianapolis politician.” And these weren’t even necessarily his sworn enemies—in fact, he was sometimes campaigning for them. How did Roosevelt juggle this lack of faith in his contemporaries with the knowledge that he often needed them in order to effect change on a national level? Letting off steam through dazzlingly creative insults, for one thing. Find out more in this week’s episode.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
12/01/19 • 39 min
Mental Floss Presents: The Quest for the North Pole - TR Vs. Other Presidents
Transcript
History versus is a production of I heart radio and mental flaws. Shifty Adroit's logathy, cold blooded, narrow minded, prejudiced, obstinate, timid, old psalm singing Indianapolis politician, no more backbone than a chocolate eclaire, a flood dub with a streak of the second rate, and the common in him puzzle with fat head brains less than a guinea pig. Yes, those are the words of Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, author, philan
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/mental-floss-presents-the-quest-for-the-north-pole-1135/tr-vs-other-presidents-980302"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to tr vs. other presidents on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy