George Washington (1789-1797)
Rumored to be gay (+2)
Put the importance of the Revolutionary struggle above the concerns of civilian life (+1)
Let same-sex couples in the Revolutionary army (+1)
Hired many LGBTQ people including Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben and Casimir Pulaski (+1)
Total Score: 5
John Adams (1798-1801)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
Revised Virginia law to make punishment for sodomy castration instead of execution (+1)
Rumored to have a same-sex relationship with George Washington (+2)
Total Score: 3
James Madison (1809-1817)
Rumored to be Asexual (+2)
Total Score: 2
James Monroe (1817-1825)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
John Quincy Adams (1825-1849)
Rumored to have same-sex relationships while in office (+2)
Total Score: 2
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
Rumored to have same-sex relationships while in office (+2)
Total Score: 2
Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
Rumored to have same-sex relationships while in office (+2)
Total Score: 2
William Henry Harrison (1841-1841)
Rumored to have experimented in a same-sex relationship while in office (+2)
Helped Peche Hand and an ex-slave Morning Gard escape when their homosexual relationship was found out (+1)
Total Score: 3
John Tyler (1841-1845)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
James K. Polk (1845-1849)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
Rumored to have been bisexual (+2)
Total Score: 2
James Buchanan (1857-1861)
Most extensive evidence of a same-sex relationship while in office compared to all other LGBTQ presidents before (+2)
Total Score: 2
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Rumored to have a same-sex relationship with Joshua Speed (+2)
Total Score: 2
Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1871, the start of the LGBTQ rights movement in the United States (+1)
Rumored to have same-sex relationships while in office (+2)
Total Score: 3
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
Said while in office that homosexuality was "one among many tragic signs that we are a broken people" (-1)
Total Score: -1
James A. Garfield (1881-1881)
Wrote passionate notes to his college friend, Harry Rhodes. This points to a long-term same-sex relationship with him (+2)
Total Score: 2
Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
Rumored to be homosexual but the evidence of this is sketchy at best (+1)
Had over 40 pairs of trousers
Redesigned the White House many times while in office and served as the lead designer of those redesigns
Total Score: 1
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)
His wife, Rose, was a lesbian (+0)
Grover fully accepted his wife for being a lesbian and accepted her same-sex partnerships (+1)
He met with We'wha and Matilda Coxe Stevenson in the White House, both of which were two-spirit individuals (+1)
Total Score: 2
Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Grover Cleveland (1889-1897)
His wife, Rose, was a lesbian (+0)
Grover fully accepted his wife for being a lesbian and accepted her same-sex partnerships (+1)
He met with We'wha and Matilda Coxe Stevenson in the White House, both of which were two-spirit individuals (+1)
Total Score: 2
William McKinley (1897-1901)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
No LGBTQ record could be found
Total Score: 0
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
His administration used the word "gay" for the first time in U.S. presidential history (+0)
The word appears only in his wife, Grace Coolidge's biography as a term to mean "happiness", not in reference to homosexuality (+0)
Total Score: 0
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
Rumored to have same-sex relationships while in office (+2)
Total Score: 2
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt was a lesbian (+0)
Franklin fully accepted Eleanor for being a lesbian and allowed his wife to have same-sex relationships in some sort of arrangement since Franklin was reportedly having affairs with other women too (+1)
Franklin built his wife a house across from his in Hyde Park, New York, so she could spend time with her lover, Lorena Hickok (+1)
Certified FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover and gave him the power to investigate communists. This power was then used to investigate homosexuals in the United States by the FBI by J. Edgar Hoover (-1)
Total Score: 1
Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
Signed an executive order adding "sexual perversion" to a list of behaviors that would keep a person from holding a position in government as part of the Lavender Scare (-1)
Implemented a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" type policy in the military so LGBTQ people could not serve openly in the U.S. military (-1)
He was bullied in middle school and called a "sissy". Later, he reflected on this and said it was "hard on a boy. It makes him lonely, and it gives him an inferiority complex, and he has a hard time overcoming it." (-1)
He often referred to his feminine features and attributes as things he did not like about himself (-1)
Total Score: -4
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
As the Cold War set in, he signed an executive order banning LGBTQ people from serving in the federal government (-1)
Total Score: -1
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
Believed gay couples should have the legal right to be married but believed churches should be allowed to refuse to perform those same-sex ceremonies (+1)
Total Score: 1
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
Believed gay individuals should have equal rights and freedoms in the government (+1)
Signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to LGBTQ freedoms today (+1)
Total Score: 2
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
During the Watergate Scandal, he fought for private individuals to have privacy and make personal decisions. Years later, these same arguments were used to gain equal rights for transgender people (+1)
Said while in office, "[Gays] have a problem. They're born that way. You know that. That's all. I think they are." (-1)
Said while in office, "Boy Scout leaders, YMCA leaders and others bring them in that direction and teachers, And if you look over the history of societies, you will find, of course, that some of the highly intelligent people - Oscar Wilde, Aristotle, etc., etc., etc., were all homosexuals...Once a society moves in that direction, the vitality goes out of that society." (-1)
Total Score: -1
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
Did not support same-sex marriage and spoke out many times against it (-1)
Did support the end of sodomy laws in the Lawrence v. Texas court case that would later lead to homosexuality becoming legal in the United States in the 2003 Supreme Court ruling on Lawrence v. Texas (+1)
His son was rumored to be homosexual (+0)
Gerald supported his son's sexual orientation (+1)
In September 1975, Sara Jane Moore fired two shots at President Ford in an assassination attempt. The first shot missed Ford, after which, Oliver "Bill" Sipple, a Vietnam war veteran, pushed her arm away in time for the second shot. The San Francisco Chronicle then outed Sipple as gay, after which the gay community got tons of great press but also some backlash. Ford then sent a letter to Sipple to thank him and a press release, publicly thanking the gay man for saving his life (+1)
Total Score: 2
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Campaigned for president alongside LGBTQ hero, Harvey Milk (+1)
He said while in office, "I believe that Jesus would approve of gay marriage." (+1)
He played a key role in bringing gay rights to the forefront of national politics (+1)
Total Score: 3
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
He came out against Proposition 6 in California, which would have banned gay people from teaching in public schools (+1)
Once in office, he called homosexuality a "tragic illness that needs to remain illegal." (-1)
When he found out two of his campaign aids were gay, he immediately asked for their resignations (-1)
He considered HIV and AIDS to be a gay disease and said "Maybe the Lord brought down this plague [because of] illicit sex is against the Ten Commandments." (-1)
Did not instruct the CDC or allow any funding to go towards the research of HIV/AIDS until he learned a straight person had the disease (-1)
By the time he first addressed HIV/AIDS, nearly 23,000 LGBTQ people died from the disease in the United States alone (-23,000)
Total Score: -23,003
George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
Made anti-gay positions a cornerstone of his presidential campaign (-1)
Signed into law the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, allowing the Justice Department to report on crimes where the victim was targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity (+1)
He oversaw the removal of a ban on "sexual deviation" from the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (+1)
He supported the Federal Marriage Amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage on a federal level (-1)
He did little to support the research of HIV/AIDS even as many more LGBTQ people died from the disease (-1)
He appointed two anti-LGBTQ judges to the Supreme Court, David Souter and Clarence Thomas (-2)
He served as a witness to the wedding of two women in Maine in 2013 (+1)
Total Score: -2
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
In 1991, he met with LGBT advocates in Hollywood, making him the first major presidential candidate to seek the LGBT vote (+1)
In 1997, during an interview with the Human Rights Campaign, he said he supported a law that protects homosexuals in the workplace (+1)
He signed into law "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", banning LGBTQ people from serving openly in the U.S. military (-1)
In June 1996, he said "I remain opposed to same-sex marriage. I believe marriage is an institution for the union of a man and a woman. This has been my long-standing position, and it is not being reviewed or considered." (-1)
In 1996, he signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act, stating that the federal government would only recognize marriage between one man and one woman (-1)
In 2008, as his wife, Hillary, was first running for president herself, Bill said the Defense of Marriage Act that he signed back in 1996 was not anti-gay (+0)
In 2008, as his wife was running for president, Bill said that he is "basically in support of gay marriage (+0)
In 2013, as his wife was gearing up for another run for president, he wrote to the Washington Post, saying "I now know that, even worse than providing an excuse for discrimination, the law itself is discriminatory. It should be overturned." (+1)
Total Score: 0
George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (-1)
He said during his reelection campaign, "We believe marriage is the union between a man and a woman, and should be defended. I will continue to appoint judges who strictly interpret the law and not legislate from the bench." (-1)
He appointed two anti-LGBTQ judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, John G. Roberts, Jr. and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. - both of which have legislated heavily from the bench against the LGBTQ community's rights (-2)
He attended the wedding of a lesbian couple, Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen in 2013. He also offered to perform the ceremony but reportedly had a scheduling conflict. (+1)
Total Score: -3
Barack Obama (2009-2017)
In 2004, Obama said he supported civil unions and civil rights for gays and lesbians but insisted "Marriage is between a man and a woman" (-1)
According to multiple 2009 surveys before becoming president, he supported same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, and adding sexual orientation to the Human Rights Act (+3)
In 2008, he pledged to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act (+2)
He signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, making it a federal offense to commit a crime targetting someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity (+1)
In December 2010, he signed a bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (+1)
In February 2011, he instructed the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court (+1)
In July 2014, he signed an executive order protecting LGBTQ employees working for government contractors (+1)
In January 2015, he became the first U.S. president to use the word "transgender" during a State of the Union address (+1)
In April 2015, he said that conversion therapy for minors should be banned nationally (+1)
In June 2016, thanks to his appointment to the Supreme Court (Justice Sonia Sotomayor), they ruled in favor of marriage equality (+1)
In June 2016, he designated the Stonewall National Monument as the first U.S. national park dedicated to LGBTQ history (+1)
Total Score: 12
Donald Trump (2017-2021)
He was the first republican candidate for president to mention LGBTQ rights in his RNC speech in 2016 (+1)
He repeatedly said while running for president and while in office that he is against same-sex marriage and against trans individuals having equal rights (-2)
In September 2019, he addressed the United Nations, speaking of his work to end the criminalization of homosexuality in other countries (+1)
To date, he has not done a single thing to end the criminalization of homosexuality in any of those countries (-1)
He signed over 350 anti-LGBTQ executive orders, laws, and policies while in office (-350)
Defunded HIV/AIDS research while president (-1)
Only reinstated that funding once he learned more straight and cis-gender people have HIV/AIDS than LGBTQ people (-1)
Supports "Project 2025" and "Agenda 47", calling for the end of same-sex marriage, banning transgender people from being trans at any age, and banning LGBTQ people from adopting a child (-1)
Total Score: -354
Joe Biden (2021-2025)
In 1972, when he was a U.S. Senator, Joe Biden said "My gut reaction is that they [homosexuals] are security risks." (-1)
As a senator, he said that he believes marriage should be between one man and one woman (-1)
Since becoming president in 2021, he hosted multiple Pride days at the White House every year (+4)
In June 2021, Biden announced the National Pulse Memorial, making the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a national monument (+1)
In August 2021, he led the Departments of Education, Justice, and HHS to advise schools on how to better protect LGBTQ students (+1)
In December 2022, Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting same-sex marriage in federal law rather than a Supreme Court decision. (+1)
In April 2023, he filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming healthcare (+1)
Total Score: 6
Kamala Harris (2025-?)
Worked to declare same-sex marriage legal in San Francisco, California in her early career (+1)
Conducted same-sex marriages many times in her career (+1)
Set up a hate crimes unit while serving as District Attorney to help the LGBTQ community (+1)
Her main goal in her campaign to be Attorney General was to end Proposition 8 in California (+1)
While Attorney General, she abolished the gay and trans panic defense for criminal trials in the state (+2)
While serving as a U.S. Senator, she introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate to require insurance companies to cover a HIV-prevention method. (+1)
As Vice President, she spoke out many times against anti-LGBTQ bills as they get introduced in states across the country (+6)
She is the first Vice President in U.S. history to attend a Pride event. (+1)
She hosted Pride days at the White House each year while serving as Vice President (+4)
Total Score: 18 so far
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