History UsefulNotes / WarrenHarding

[[redirect:UsefulNotes/WarrenGHarding]

[[redirect:UsefulNotes/WarrenGHarding]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warren_g_harding.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."'']]

->''"I have no trouble with my enemies. I can take care of my enemies in a fight. But my friends, my goddamned friends, they're the ones who keep me walking the floor at nights!"''
-->--'''Warren G. Harding''', who kept [[WithFriendsLikeThese less than scrupulous company]].

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, elected (on his 55th birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history (it helped that women could now vote). He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

Harding also had a tendency to [[{{Malaproper}} mis-speak]]. His speech was nicknamed "Gamalielese" for the examples of WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma of the likes of this:

->''"I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved."''

If you didn't understand what the hell any of that said, don't worry. Neither do we.

Many have argued people only voted for him because he "looked presidential". He emerged from a classic backroom deal at the 1920 Republican National Convention (selected mainly because he had stayed out of the [[UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft Taft]]/[[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt Roosevelt]] feud that split the party in 1912 and had thus not pissed off anybody) and then ran the first modern campaign. Roosevelt had actually been the Republican party's top pick for nomination in the 1920 election, owed to him mending burned bridges with the party that he had previously scorned in the 1912 election, and it's likely that his still-strong reputation would've carried him to victory without issue, but he died in 1919 before he could be officially picked. Consequently, Harding was brought up to the mantle in his place.

Notable events in his presidency? Harding campaigned on a platform of "a return to [[PerfectlyCromulentWord normalcy]]" after Wilson's hand in wrapping up [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Great War]] lost him popularity at home, thus leading the US back into an isolationist phase from which it wouldn't emerge until the later days of UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt's administration (which [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII another world war]] necessitated). He set up what became the Department of Veterans' Affairs, created the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval fleet sizes, and appointed UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft as Chief Justice. Harding was especially infamous for how many of his appointees engaged in large-scale corruption, a stark contrast to Roosevelt's reformist policies both before and during his own presidency.

[[NeverLiveItDown The scandals are what Harding's presidency is most remembered for today.]] Harding appointed many political friends to positions of power during his presidency. Known as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Gang Ohio Gang]], they pretty much carved up the nation's resources from underneath him, setting up many scandals down the road, the most infamous of which was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal Teapot Dome Scandal]]. Until [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]], Teapot Dome was the most notorious political scandal in US history.

However, the Harding administration also did many things that could be considered positive. For example, the Washington Naval Conference, which was hosted by the United States under Harding, was intended to stop another World War, especially as tensions between the US and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} were quite high in the early 1920s -- it only failed later when [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] adopted imperial ambitions that couldn't be fettered by the treaty. (However, to his credit, Harding, knowing his inexperience with foreign affairs, basically left the American position to his competent and honest Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, and promised to stay out of his way.) He was surprisingly progressive when it came to race relations, wholeheartedly supporting an anti-lynching bill, which died in the Senate. He also did not start, or otherwise engage in, any major armed conflicts and helped secure UsefulNotes/{{Panama}}'s independence via diplomacy. The crash of 1920 was solved within the first year of Harding's administration, which then led to the "roaring '20s". Additionally, he was one of the few presidents in the past century to balance the federal budget, while managing to lower taxes--something a lot of American voters demand routinely but which most realistic economists regard as being UnwinnableByDesign. Also, he freed several political prisoners, including the outspoken socialist and anti-war activist UsefulNotes/EugeneDebs.

Harding was a heavy drinker, but agreed to stop drinking (at least in public) to provide an example to all the Americans who were happily ignoring Prohibition (it didn't work).

According to one account, Harding himself once lamented that he was unfit to be president.

In July 1923, while traveling through Canada after visiting Alaska, Harding developed food poisoning, then pneumonia, which then brought upon the heart attack that killed him in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, California on August 2.

Due to his administration's corruption, Harding is often a frontrunner on many "worst presidents in American history" lists, although like UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant, he wasn't corrupt himself, just a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter in way over his head.

He was the first sitting U.S. senator to be elected president (he served a full six-year term as the junior senator from Ohio before he was promoted), which only UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and UsefulNotes/BarackObama have accomplished since him. He is the eighth and final president to be associated by birth and/or residence with Ohio.[[note]]UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison was a resident of Ohio when he was elected; UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant and UsefulNotes/BenjaminHarrison were born in the Buckeye State but lived in other states when they became president. Harding followed UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes, UsefulNotes/JamesAGarfield, UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley, and Taft for having both apply to him.[[/note]] He's also the guy who coined the term "Founding Father." He used it during an address he gave in the Republican National Convention of 1916, and popularized its usage during his inaugural address. The [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Lincoln Memorial]] was commissioned during Harding's presidency, with Honest Abe's son Robert in attendance.

In August of 2015 it was confirmed by genetic analysis that he had a love child, Elizabeth Ann Britton, with Nan Britton, a woman long shamed over claiming this as the result of their affair. It was also revealed that he [[ICallHimMisterHappy called his penis "Jerry"]], which delighted certain segments of the press even more.

When he died, there was an urban legend, believed by many people, that his [[BlackWidow wife had poisoned him]] in revenge for his many affairs. And at least one person believed that he [[ForgivenessRequiresDeath committed suicide to avoid]] being [[FateWorseThanDeath impeached.]]
----
!!In fiction
* In the novel ''Carter Beats the Devil'', Harding's death occurs shortly after seeing the titular magician perform, which gets Carter investigated by the Secret Service. [[spoiler:The ending reveals that Carter helped Harding [[FakingTheDeath fake his death]], and the former president retires to a retreat for Carter's similarly retired performing animals.]]
* In ''Literature/AmericaTheBook'', a segment written by Creator/StephenColbert states that he was the worst President. Colbert writes that the reasons for this are well-documented, so he just proceeds to insult him.
** On a later episode of ''Series/TheColbertReport'', in response to UsefulNotes/BarackObama bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia (and UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush ''holding his hand as they walked''),[[note]]In the traditional societies of the Arabian Peninsula, holding hands is a sign of firm friendship, but nothing more. The hand-holding was intended as a signal to the region to demonstrate firm mutual support.[[/note]] Colbert lamented that American presidents didn't always show foreign leaders such respect -- as evidenced by a photo of Harding giving the former king a noogie.
** On another episode of ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert, talking about Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, said that the middle initial "G." stood, in fact, for "Gangsta". [[WikiVandal And for a while afterwards, Wikipedia said so.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series, "Warren G. Harding" is the third worst score ranking you can achieve (the second and first being Ethelred the Unready and UsefulNotes/DanQuayle respectively). And who is listed immediately above Harding? ''[[TheCaligula Nero.]]''
* He has a small role in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''. His mistress, Nan Britton, has a fair bit of screentime as well.
* In Creator/GoreVidal's novel ''Hollywood'', it's hinted that Harding is either BornLucky or ObfuscatingStupidity much of the time. Once elected, he reveals himself to be much more devious than anybody in Washington had suspected.
* He is the subject of the Music/AlStewart song [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Warren Harding"]] from ''Past, Present and Future''.
* Harding appears indirectly in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': Cora's brother Harold Levinson ends up as one of the more minor players in Teapot Dome. Finding himself under investigation, Harold's lawyers seem to think that having an English earl vouch for him would help his case, and Lord Grantham is called over to America to testify before Congress to bail his brother-in-law out (intending to portray him as [[HanlonsRazor an honest dupe rather than a corrupt mastermind]]). A few characters (particularly the Dowager Countess) also comment on the weird name of the scandal.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Skinner's Sense of Snow", Milhouse is seen [[MustacheVandalism adding a mustache]] onto a portrait of Harding.
* ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'' devoted a segment to Harding's love letters and another to the revelation that Nan Britton's child was his. Later, the show also created a fake movie trailer about Harding's life with Creator/LauraLinney as his wife, Creator/AnnaKendrick as his mistress, and a low-quality Warren G. Harding wax figure that Creator/JohnOliver bought as Harding.
----

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warren_g_harding.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:310: ''"Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."'']]

The guy who became president because UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt died.

'''Warren Gamaliel Harding''' (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, elected (on his 55th birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history and it helped that women could now vote. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warren_g_harding.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:290: ''"Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."'']]

'''Warren Gamaliel Harding''' (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, elected (on his 55th birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history (helped by the fact that women could now vote!). He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

'''Warren Gamaliel Harding''' (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, elected (on his 55th birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

In July 1923, while traveling through Canada after visiting Alaska, Harding developed food poisoning, then pneumonia, which then brought upon the stroke that killed him in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, California on August 2.

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, elected (on his 55th birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

Many have argued people only voted for him because he "looked presidential". He emerged from a classic backroom deal at the 1920 Republican National Convention (selected mainly because he had stayed out of the [[UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft Taft]]/[[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt Roosevelt]] feud that split the party in 1912 and had thus not pissed off anybody) and then ran the first modern campaign. Roosevelt had actually been the Republican party's top pick for nomination, owed to him mending burned bridges with the party that he had previously scorned in the 1912 election, but died in 1919 before he could be officially picked. Consequently, Harding was brought up to the mantle in his place.

The guy who became president because UsefulNotes/TeddyRoosevelt died.

Many have argued people only voted for him because he "looked presidential". He emerged from a classic backroom deal at the 1920 Republican National Convention (selected mainly because he had stayed out of the [[UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft Taft]]/[[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt Roosevelt]] feud that split the party in 1912 and had thus not pissed off anybody) and then ran the first modern campaign.

Notable events in his presidency? Harding campaigned on a platform of "a return to [[PerfectlyCromulentWord normalcy]]" after Wilson's hand in wrapping up [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Great War]] lost him popularity at home, thus leading the US back into an isolationist phase from which it wouldn't emerge until the later days of UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt's administration (which [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII another world war]] necessitated). He set up what became the Department of Veterans' Affairs, created the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval fleet sizes, and appointed UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft as Chief Justice. Harding was especially infamous for how many of his appointees engaged in large-scale corruption.

When he died, there was an urban legend, believed by many people, that his [[BlackWidow wife had poisoned him]] in revenge for [[YourCheatingHeart his many affairs.]] And at least one person believed that he [[ForgivenessRequiresDeath committed suicide to avoid]] being [[FateWorseThanDeath impeached.]]

* He has a small role in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''. His mistress, Nan Britton, has a fair bit of screentime as well. Notably, Britton's claim that Harding fathered her child is treated as a delusion, as the show was made before it was confirmed to be true.

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was elected as the 29th President of the United States (on his birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], in between UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

Notable events in his presidency? Harding campaigned on a platform of "a return to [[PerfectlyCromulentWord normalcy]]" after Wilson's hand in wrapping up [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Great War]] lost him popularity at home, thus leading the US back into an isolationist phase from which it wouldn't emerge until the later days of UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt's administration. He set up what became the Department for Veterans' Affairs, created the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval fleet sizes, and appointed UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft as Chief Justice. Harding was especially infamous for how many of his appointees engaged in large-scale corruption.

However, the Harding administration also did many things that could be considered positive. For example, the Washington Naval Conference, which was hosted by the United States under Harding, was intended to stop another World War, especially as tensions between the US and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} were quite high in the early 1920s -- it only failed later when [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]] adopted imperial ambitions that couldn't be fettered by the treaty. (However, to his credit, Harding, knowing his inexperience with foreign affairs, basically left the American position to his competent and honest Secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes, and promised to stay out of his way.) He was surprisingly progressive when it came to race relations, wholeheartedly supporting an anti-lynching bill, which died in the Senate. He also did not start, or otherwise engage in, any major armed conflicts and helped secure UsefulNotes/{{Panama}}'s independence via diplomacy. The crash of 1920 was solved within the first year of Harding's administration, which then led to the "roaring '20s". Additionally, he was one of the few presidents in the past century to balance the federal budget, while managing to lower taxes--something routinely demanded by American voters but usually considered by realistic economists to be UnwinnableByDesign. Also, he freed several political prisoners, including the outspoken socialist and anti-war activist UsefulNotes/EugeneDebs.

He's also the guy who coined the term "Founding Father." He used it during an address he gave in the Republican National Convention of 1916, and popularized its usage during his inaugural address. The [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Lincoln Memorial]] was commissioned during Harding's presidency, with Honest Abe's son Robert in attendance.

* In the novel ''Carter Beats the Devil'', Harding's death occurs shortly after seeing the titular magician perform, which gets Carter investigated by the Secret Service. [[spoiler:The ending reveals that Carter helped Harding fake his death, and the former president retires to a retreat for Carter's similarly-retired performing animals.]]

** On a later episode of ''Series/TheColbertReport'', in response to UsefulNotes/BarackObama bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia (and UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush ''holding his hand as they walked''),[[note]]In the traditional societies of the Arabian Peninsula, holding hands is a sign of firm friendship, but nothing more. The hand-holding was intended as a signal to the region to demonstrate firm mutual support.[[/note]] Colbert lamented that Presidents didn't use to respect foreign leaders -- as evidenced by a photo of Harding giving the former king a noogie.
** On another episode of ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert, talking about Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, said that the "G." stood, in fact, for "Gangsta". [[WikiVandal And for a while, Wikipedia said so.]]

Notable events in his presidency? Harding campaigned on a platform of "a return to [[PerfectlyCromulentWord normalcy]]" after Wilson's hand in wrapping [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Great War]] lost him popularity at home, thus leading the US back into an isolationist phase from which it wouldn't emerge until the later days of UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt's administration. He set up what became the Department for Veterans' Affairs, created the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval fleet sizes, and appointed UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft as Chief Justice. Harding was especially infamous for how many of his appointees engaged in large-scale corruption.

Harding was a heavy drinker, but agreed to stop drinking (at least in public) to provide an example to all the Americans who were happily ignoring Prohibition. (It didn't work.)

In August of 2015 it was confirmed by genetic analysis that he had a lovechild, Elizabeth Ann Britton, with Nan Britton, a woman long shamed for claiming to have had an affair with him. It was also revealed that he [[ICallHimMisterHappy called his penis "Jerry"]], which delighted certain segments of the press even more.

* He has a small role in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''. His mistress, Nan Britton has a fair bit of screentime as well. Notably, Britton's claim that Harding fathered her child is treated as a delusion, as the show was made before it was confirmed to be true.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Skinner's Sense of Snow", Milhouse is seen [[MustacheVandalism adding a mustache]] at a portrait of Harding.

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was elected as the 29th President of the United States (on his birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], after UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and before UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

Many have argued people only voted for him because he "looked presidential". He emerged from a classic backroom deal at the 1920 Republican Convention (selected mainly because he had stayed out of the Taft/Roosevelt feud that split the party in 1912 and had thus not pissed off anybody) and then ran the first modern campaign.

Notable events in his presidency? Harding campaigned on a platform of "a return to [[PerfectlyCromulentWord normalcy]]", and so led the US back into an isolationist phase from which it wouldn't emerge until the later days of UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt. He set up what became the Department for Veterans' Affairs, created the Washington Naval Treaty limiting naval fleet sizes and appointed UsefulNotes/WilliamHowardTaft as Chief Justice. Harding was especially infamous for how many of his appointees engaged in large-scale corruption.

The aforementioned scandals are what Harding's presidency is most remembered for today. Harding appointed many political friends to positions of power during his tenure as president. Known as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Gang Ohio Gang]], they pretty much carved up the nation's resources from underneath him, setting up a rather large number of scandals down the road, the most infamous of which was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal Teapot Dome Scandal]]. Until [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate]], Teapot Dome was the most notorious political scandal in US history.

However, the Harding administration also did many things that could be considered positive. For example, the aforementioned Washington Naval Conference, which was hosted by the United States under Harding, was intended to stop another World War, especially as tensions between the US and UK were quite high in the early 1920s - it only failed when Japan later adopted imperial ambitions that couldn't be fettered by the treaty. (Though it is worth mentioning that Harding, inexperienced with foreign affairs, basically let his competent and honest Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes do whatever and promised to stay out of his way.) He was surprisingly progressive when it came to race relations, and wholeheartedly supported an anti-lynching bill which died in the Senate. He also did not start, or otherwise engage in any major armed conflicts, and helped secure Panama's independence through diplomatic means. The crash of 1920 was solved within the first year of Harding's administration, which then led to the "roaring 20s". Additionally, he was one of the few presidents in the past century to actually balance the federal budget, while managing to lower taxes--something routinely demanded by American voters but usually considered by realistic economists to be UnwinnableByDesign. Also, he freed several political prisoners, including the outspoken socialist and anti-war activist Eugene V. Debs.

According to one account, Harding himself once lamented that he was unfit to hold office.

Due to his administration's corruption, Harding is often a front runner on many "worst presidents in American history" lists, although he wasn't corrupt himself, just a bad judge of character in way over his head.

When he died, there was an urban legend, believed by many people, that his [[BlackWidow wife had poisoned him]] in revenge for [[YourCheatingHeart his many affairs]]. And at least one person believed that he [[ForgivenessRequiresDeath committed suicide to avoid]] being [[FateWorseThanDeath impeached]].

* In the novel ''Carter Beats The Devil'', Harding's death occurs shortly after seeing the titular magician perform, which gets Carter investigated by the Secret Service. [[spoiler:The ending reveals that Carter helped Harding fake his death, and the former president retires to a retreat for Carter's similarly-retired performing animals.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series, "Warren G. Harding" is the third worst score ranking you can achieve (the second and first being Ethelred the Unready and UsefulNotes/DanQuayle respectively). And who is listed immediately above Harding? ''[[TheCaligula Nero]]''.
* A small role in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire.'' His mistress, Nan Britton has a fair bit of screentime as well. Notably, Britton's claim that Harding fathered her child is treated as a delusion, as the show was made before it was confirmed to actually be true.
* In Creator/GoreVidal's novel ''Hollywood'', it's hinted that Harding is either BornLucky or ObfuscatingStupidity much of the time. Once elected, he reveals himself to much more devious than anybody in Washington had suspected.

* ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'' devoted a segment to Harding's love letters and another to the revelation that Nan Britton's child was his. Later, the show also created a fake movie trailer about Harding's life with Creator/LauraLinney as his wife, Creator/AnnaKendrick as his mistress and a low-quality Warren G. Harding wax figure that John Oliver bought as Harding.

Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was elected as the 29th President of the United States (on his birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in US history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], after UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and before UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warren_g_harding.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."'']]

[[quoteright:209:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harding.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:209: ''"Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too little."'']]

'''Warren Gamaliel Harding''' (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was elected as the 29th president (on his birthday!) with the widest popular vote margin in US history. He served from [[TheRoaringTwenties 1921 to 1923]], after UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson and before UsefulNotes/CalvinCoolidge, and was the tenth Republican Party president. These days, he's considered one of the worst failures to hold the office.

Due to his administration's corruption, Harding is often a front runner on many "worst presidents in American history" lists, although he wasn't corrupt himself, just a [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter bad judge of character]] in way over his head.

* ''Creator/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'' devoted a segment to Harding's love letters and another to the revelation that Nan Britton's child was his. Later, the show also created a fake movie trailer about Harding's life with Creator/LauraLinney as his wife, Creator/AnnaKendrick as his mistress and a low-quality Warren G. Harding wax figure that John Oliver bought as Harding.