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Who was the funniest US president?

The funniest US president was Abraham Lincoln, according to NPR's roundup of Bob Dole's book Great Presidential Wit (2012), because his jokes were stories about human nature, told in exaggerated country voices, with a sarcastic streak he kept on a leash.

Updated · Based on NPR (May 1, 2012) and History News Network (October 11, 2007)

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Bob Dole's book Great Presidential Wit put Lincoln first among four presidents he placed in a class by themselves, ahead of Ronald Reagan and Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, and Peggy Noonan called Lincoln the most comic president. Among modern presidents, Reagan is the usual pick: political scientist Larry Jacobs named him the funniest recent one. Lincoln's humor came from stories about people; Reagan's came from turning an attack around in a single line.

The pick: Abraham Lincoln

16th US president, 1861–1865

Named first by Bob Dole's ranking of presidential wit and called the most comic president by Peggy Noonan.

Also in the running

  • Ronald Reagan (40th US president, 1981–1989): Second on Dole's list, and the pick of University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs among recent presidents.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd US president, 1933–1945): On Dole's list of four presidents in a class by themselves.
  • Theodore Roosevelt (26th US president, 1901–1909): On Dole's list, mostly for inventive insults aimed at his critics.
  • Calvin Coolidge (30th US president, 1923–1929): Writer James Dodson called him the funniest chief executive, for a famously dry, deadpan delivery.

What made them funny

Lincoln's humor was about people. Peggy Noonan describes a man who saw everyone's flaws and habits clearly, and whose jokes were really about human nature, often told as stories in exaggerated country voices. Bob Dole notes that Lincoln had a sharp sarcastic streak that he learned to keep on a leash, so the barbs he did let out landed harder.

Reagan's humor was about timing under pressure. His best-remembered lines came at the worst possible moments: on the debate stage when his age was the issue, and in an operating room after he'd been shot. In both, the joke took the thing everyone was worried about and made it smaller.

Techniques to take into your videos and sets

  1. 1. Measure the type, not the person

    What they did

    An account published in 1892 has Lincoln saying of a long-winded speaker, "That Blower can compress the most words in the fewest ideas of any man I ever knew." The joke works on a type everyone has met, the windbag, by measuring him with the wrong ruler.

    Why it works

    Flipping a ratio (most of the thing that doesn't matter, least of the thing that does) is instantly visual, and aiming at a type lets the whole audience picture their own version.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    My group project partner can fit the most Google Docs comments into the fewest finished paragraphs of anyone I've ever met.

    Try it

    Pick a type from your story (the over-explainer, the reply-all guy) and describe them with a flipped ratio: the most X in the least Y.

  2. 2. The reversed concession

    What they did

    In the October 21, 1984 debate, with questions swirling about his age, Reagan said he would not exploit, for political purposes, his opponent's "youth and inexperience." He promised not to use a weakness, then named his opponent's opposite of it.

    Why it works

    The audience expects a defense. Instead they get a mock-generous promise that turns the criticism into a weakness for the other side, and the attack can't be repeated without sounding like a straight line.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    Someone commented that I'm too old for TikTok. I want them to know I won't make an issue of their total lack of back pain.

    Try it

    Take the most common criticism in your comments, solemnly promise not to use its opposite against them, and stop there.

  3. 3. Make the scariest moment smaller

    What they did

    After he was shot in March 1981, Reagan told the surgeons preparing to operate, "I hope you are all Republicans." The chief of surgery, Joseph Giordano, answered that today they all were, according to Del Quentin Wilber's history of that day.

    Why it works

    When the stakes are at their highest, a small, ordinary concern sounds absurd, and that gap is the laugh. It also tells the audience the person telling the story is OK, which gives them permission to laugh.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    The fire alarm went off in the middle of my cooking video, which I'm counting as my first standing ovation.

    Try it

    Find the worst moment in your story and have yourself worry, out loud, about something far too small for it.

  4. 4. Deadpan about your own status

    What they did

    Coolidge is credited with explaining in 1928 that he didn't want another term because there was "no chance for advancement" in the job. The highest office in the country, described like a dead-end job.

    Why it works

    Treating something huge with flat, small-scale language (understatement) gets a laugh without a single exaggerated word, and joking about your own position reads as confidence, not insecurity.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    My channel has 212 subscribers, which is a lot if you count them slowly.

    Try it

    Describe your own biggest number, title or milestone in the flattest words possible. Add one precise detail.

Before you quote them

Many famous Lincoln jokes can't be traced to anything he said. Even the windbag line above comes from an account published 27 years after his death, and Quote Investigator rates it plausible but unproven. If you quote a president in a video, check the line first.

Questions people ask

Who was the funniest US president?
Abraham Lincoln is named most often. NPR's 2012 roundup of Bob Dole's Great Presidential Wit lists him first, ahead of Reagan, Franklin Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, and Peggy Noonan called him "the most comic president," as History News Network reported in 2007.
Who was the funniest modern president?
Ronald Reagan. University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs told NPR that Reagan was the funniest recent president and had a store of jokes from his years on the dinner circuit. His best-known line is the October 21, 1984 debate quip about his opponent's "youth and inexperience."
Was Calvin Coolidge funny?
Writer James Dodson thought so. Writing in Yankee magazine in 1987, he called Coolidge "the funniest chief executive we've ever had," NPR noted. Coolidge is credited with saying in 1928 that he didn't want another term because the job offered "no chance for advancement."
Did Lincoln really say a man could "compress the most words in the fewest ideas"?
Probably, but nobody can prove it. The line comes from an account published in 1892, 27 years after Lincoln died, and Quote Investigator rates the attribution plausible but unproven. Treat it as likely Lincoln, not certain Lincoln.
Did Reagan really tell his surgeons "I hope you are all Republicans"?
Yes. National Review's John J. Miller, citing Del Quentin Wilber's book Rawhide Down, reports that Reagan said it before surgery in March 1981, and chief of surgery Joseph Giordano answered that today they were all Republicans.

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Sources

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