Presidents as Fathers: Which Was the Best?

What kind of father do presidents of the United States make?

On the eve of Father’s Day weekend, consider some of the advice occupants of the Oval Office have offered their children.

Donald Trump, who holds the distinction of being the 45th and 47th president, has long touted the simple and straightforward counsel he’s given all four of his children.

“I always said the same thing,” President Trump told the New York Post. “I said: no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes. I also would say don’t get tattoos, but I don’t say it too strongly, because a lot of people have gotten tattoos, and that’s what they choose to do.”

Trump’s brother Fred was an alcoholic who tragically died of the disease. As a teetotaler, the president offers toasts at special dinners with glasses of Diet Coke.

Back in 2004, Trump, who was married twice prior to First Lady Melania Trump, did an interview with New York Magazine where he bluntly said, “I’m a really good father, but not a really good husband. You’ve probably figured out my children really like me — love me — a lot.”

What about previous presidents?

President Joe Biden has reportedly urged his children to focus on the personal concerns and interests of others.

“The most successful and happiest people I’ve known understand that a good life at its core is about being personal,” the former president stated.

“It’s about being engaged. It’s about being there for a friend or a colleague when they’re injured or in an accident, remembering the birthdays, congratulating them on their marriage, celebrating the birth of their child. It’s about being available to them when they’re going through personal loss. It’s about loving someone more than yourself.”

Former president Barack Obama urged his two daughters, “Don’t let your hunger for success keep you from enjoying life.”

“What we try to encourage is the sense that it’s not somebody else’s job, it’s your job,” Obama reflected. “That’s an ethic that they’ve embraced. You have to be persistent.”

President George W. Bush, who was famously influenced by his own father, the 41st president, credits his decision to give up drinking alcohol with enabling him to be an engaged and loving dad.

As president, Bush regularly urged his daughters to live “normal” lives. “Your mother and I are living our lives,” he told them. “And that’s what we raised you to do: live yours.”

When Michael Reagan was about to get married, President Reagan wrote him the following letter:

You’ve heard all the jokes that have been rousted around by all the ‘unhappy marrieds’ and cynics. Now, in case no one has suggested it, there is another viewpoint. You have entered into the most meaningful relationship there is in all human life. It can be whatever you decide to make it.

… Sure, there will be moments when you will see someone or think back to an earlier time and you will be challenged to see if you can still make the grade, but let me tell you how really great is the challenge of proving your masculinity and charm with one woman for the rest of your life. Any man can find a twerp here and there who will go along with cheating, and it doesn’t take all that much manhood.

It does take quite a man to remain attractive and to be loved by a woman who has heard him snore, seen him unshaven, tended him while he was sick and washed his dirty underwear. Do that and keep her still feeling a warm glow and you will know some very beautiful music.

…There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.”

Other notable and involved Oval Office dads have included Teddy Roosevelt, John Adams (whose son grew up to also be president), John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush.

Of course, the very best fatherly advice comes not from presidents but from the Bible. Scripture urges fathers to train their children in His ways (Proverbs 22:6), discipline accordingly (Proverbs 3:11-12) and yet be mindful to not exasperate boys and girls as they raise them “in the instruction and discipline of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Which president has been the best father? It’s an impossible question to answer, but you can be sure each one, whether they demonstrate it well or not, has loved his child or children just as much as you love yours.

Image from Getty.