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James K. Polk (1795–1849) -

In 1846, Polk told Congress that Mexico had invaded the US, but this wasn't true. In fact, his administration had ordered American soldiers occupy an area in Mexico near the Texas border.

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James K. Polk (1795–1849) -

Then, when Mexican forces attacked the US soldiers, Polk claimed it was an attack against the US. This lie resulted in the Mexican-American War, which lasted until 1848.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

While Lincoln didn't tell complete lies, he wasn't always truthful. In response to rumors that he was about to meet with Confederate representatives in Washington in 1865, he told the House that no representatives were on their way to Washington.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

Lincoln wasn't lying, as they were on their way to Virginia, where he would later meet them. He didn't tell the whole truth at first because he didn't want his meeting to impact the passing of the 13th Amendment.

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William McKinley (1843–1901) -

In 1898, McKinley declared Spain had attacked a US warship called the USS Maine in Cuba, killing 355 sailors. However, he had no evidence of this, and the cause of the sinking has never actually been proven.

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William McKinley (1843–1901) -

While McKinley was reluctant to go to war with Spain, his insistence that the Spanish were behind the attack led to the Spanish-American War.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) -

In 1940, FDR promised the nation that "your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars." However, he was already preparing to enter WWII. His declaration was only an election promise in order to win over Wendell Willkie.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) -

The following year, in 1941, Roosevelt lied again. This time, he said a German submarine had attacked a US ship called the Greer without provocation. However, the Greer protected the British ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean and informed them about the submarine's whereabouts, as they had been following it. FDR only used the attack as a provocation to prepare the US to enter World War II.

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Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) -

In August 1945, the Truman administration issued a press release after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, describing it as "an important military base."

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Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) -

Although it did have a military base, Hiroshima was home to 350,000 people. About 10,000 soldiers were killed in the blast, but most of the 125,000 people who died were civilians.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) -

In 1960, Eisenhower dismissed claims that the US had flown spy planes over the Soviet Union after one of its planes was shot down. Thinking the pilot was killed, he approved a number of statements that said it was a weather plane.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) -

But when the Soviet government announced they had one of the pilots, Gary Powers, in custody, Eisenhower had to admit he had been lying. "I didn't realize how high a price we were going to pay for that lie," Eisenhower said.

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John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) -

On October 20, 1962, JFK told the press he had a cold. The truth was he was dealing with a crisis. Intelligence agents had discovered that the Soviets were creating a missile base in Cuba.

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John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) -

To ensure the public didn't panic, he told the press he had to leave Chicago, where he was campaigning, due to having a fever. In reality, he had to attend a meeting back at the White House to decide whether to invade Cuba.

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Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) -

In 1964, Johnson said in a televised speech, "We still seek no wider war." This was in reference to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which North Vietnamese patrol boats had reportedly attacked US ships. In the same speech, he declared: "Aggression by terror against the peaceful villagers of South Vietnam has now been joined by open aggression on the high seas against the United States of America."

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Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) -

Johnson's administration claimed that the US ships were out on routine patrols, but they were actually on a secret mission in North Vietnamese territory. The attacks were used to increase the American presence in Vietnam. On top of that, Johnson withheld information from the public and Congress about how much was spent on the war and how badly it was going.

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Richard Nixon (1913–1994) -

In 1970, Nixon lied to the country about a US covert bombing campaign in Cambodia. After the bombings were made public, Nixon let people believe the attacks on Cambodia were over, but they weren't. In a memo, Nixon wrote, "This is what we will say publicly but now, let's talk about what we will actually do."

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Richard Nixon (1913–1994) -

Then in 1974, Nixon declared, "I'm not a crook" after being accused of obstructing justice and lying during the Watergate scandal. However, an investigation found evidence that he was indeed involved. Nixon later resigned as president instead of potentially being impeached.

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Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) -

In 1986, Reagan promised the nation, "We did not—repeat, did not—trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we." This was during the Iran-Contra Affair, where the US government secretly traded weapons with Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages being held by terrorists in Lebanon.

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Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) -

The government then used the money from the weapons sale to fund anti-communist groups in Nicaragua. This meant the US had in fact traded arms for hostages. Nixon later said, "My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not."

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George H.W. Bush (1924–2018) -

In 1988, then-Republican presidential nominee George H.W. Bush said, "Read my lips: No new taxes." At the time, this was seen as a successful political slogan.

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George H.W. Bush (1924–2018) -

But Bush was later forced to raise taxes during negotiations with a Senate and House controlled by Democrats. After he did so, the headline of the New York Post the next day read: "Read my Lips: I Lied."

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Bill Clinton (1946-) -

In 1998, Clinton said before a federal grand jury, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," referring to his intern Monica Lewinsky, with whom he did, in fact, have an affair.

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Bill Clinton (1946-) -

Clinton was impeached for lying under oath, but he was acquitted by the Senate.

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George W. Bush (1946-) -

Two months after the US invaded Iraq in 2003, George W. Bush claimed to have found weapons of mass destruction to justify the war. But they hadn't found anything.

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George W. Bush (1946-) -

Bush later said, "We do not know whether or not [Iraq] has a nuclear weapon." However, then-CIA director George Tenet later testified that Bush was advised there were no nuclear weapons.

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Barack Obama (1961-) -

In 2008, when Obama was pushing through his new Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, he promised people wouldn't need to change their plans if they didn't want to.

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Barack Obama (1961-) -

In the end, millions of people had to change their plans. "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," Obama said in 2013.

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Donald Trump (1946-) -

During his time in office, Trump made more than 30,000 false or misleading statements. Some of his lies included his claim that the pandemic was "totally under control" and that Representative Ilhan Omar supported al-Qaeda.

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Donald Trump (1946-) -

Trump also falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Sources: (Business Insider) (Forbes) (CNN) 

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