best biographies us presidents

My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

Review of “The Trials of Harry S. Truman” by Jeffrey Frank

Published in 2022, Jeffrey Frank’s “The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of an Ordinary Man, 1945-1953” offers …

Review of “An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford” by Richard Norton Smith

Published earlier this year, Richard Norton Smith’s long-anticipated biography of Gerald Ford is a valuable addition to the small collection …

Unrelated Reading: “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson

Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson 688 pages Simon & Schuster Published: Sept 2023 Despite my bias against biographies of people …

Review of “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” by Jon Meacham

Published last fall, “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” is Jon Meacham’s review of the 16th …

Review of “The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe” by Kevin Gutzman

Published two months ago, “The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe” is Kevin Gutzman’s most recent book. …

It’s the 10-Year Anniversary Post!

It’s hard to believe, but 10 years have elapsed since I embarked on what I thought would be a modestly …

Review of “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer” by Fred Kaplan

Fred Kaplan’s literary exploration “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer” was published two weeks ago. Kaplan is …

Review of “The Jazz Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding” by Ryan S. Walters

“The Jazz Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding” is Ryan Walters’s new biography of the 29th president. Walters is adjunct …

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BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

The Best Presidential Biographies For History Buffs

Dig into 46 top-notch biographies—one for each American president.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The office of the American presidency is one of the most storied in history, equaling that of older monarchies in both richness and scope. For nearly 250 years, the residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have inspired admiration, provoked outrage—and everything in between—both at home and abroad.

In light of the current political climate, we're interested in our nation's leaders more than ever. In these uncertain times, perhaps the best way to understand our future is to first understand our past—and how we got here. Whether you're a history buff or simply a curious reader, you can find valuable insight in the best presidential biographies. With their comprehensiveness and readability, they'll be the literary torchlights for your journey through history.

Related: The Best Biographies and Memoirs for Every Kind of Reader

1) George Washington

By James Thomas Flexner

Flexner’s award-winning multivolume series humanizes a man who has reached almost mythic status in the American psyche. His nimble and dramatic prose paints a complex portrait of a novice who set the standard, a conflicted man of unshakeable purpose, who made his mark in history as few ever have.

2) John Adams

By David McCullough

McCullough has made a name for himself as an epic chronicler of great lives, and he lives up to his reputation in this magisterial biography of Adams, the Founding Father who could never quite escape the shadow of the man who preceded him. From his surprising role in the Boston Massacre to inaugurating the vice presidency, America’s second president had a first row seat to its birth and trial by fire, here told by McCullough with all the depth and sweep befitting.

3) Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

By Jon Meacham

Remembered as much for his philosophy as his politics, Jefferson is a fitting subject for the cerebrally-minded Meacham, who here weaves the story of a complicated polymath who Declared Independence and Purchased Louisiana, shaping his country in ways literal and figurative.

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4) James Madison

James Madison: A Life Reconsidered

By Lynne Cheney

The wife of former wartime VP Dick Cheney, Lynne observes the life of the first wartime president of what was now officially the United States of America. Briskly-paced and heavily researched, the author nimbly guides readers through Madison’s tumults and triumphs, from authoring the Constitution to seeing the White House burned down.

5) James Monroe

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness

By Harlow Giles Unger

As Monroe shepherded the United States through a period where it began to assert itself as a regional power, Unger shepherds his audience through this riveting account of a transitional phase in American history and the key founding figure who charted its new course.

6) John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams: American Visionary,

The son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams’ presidency might be of particular interest given our most recent election, as he was both America’s first Commander-in-Chief to run as part of a familial dynasty, and its first to win an election despite losing the popular vote. In this illuminating biography, Fred Kaplan reevaluates the life of this son of American royalty, making a case for why he was a more consequential president than often given credit for.

7) Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

By H.W. Brands

Praised and reviled, but never ignored, Jackson was an American original, and Brands does him due service in this meticulously researched recounting of his life. From an orphanage to the Oval Office, from his battles with bankers to the Trail of Tears, Jackson and his outsized persona of a “tough guy” fighting on behalf of the common man against a “corrupt establishment” are as relevant today as they have ever been.

8) Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

By Ted Widmer

An early sign of Americans’ tendency to follow up two-term presidents with their opposites, Martin Van Buren was everything Andrew Jackson was not: polished, deliberate, multilingual and politically groomed. Clinton White House veteran Ted Widmer is an appropriate choice to look back on the life and career of this most accomplished of figures, who nonetheless found himself under siege from all sides once he reached the peak.

9) William Henry Harrison

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time

By Freeman Cleaves

America’s shortest-serving president had a nonetheless fascinating life, done justice here by Freeman Cleaves. Running apolitically on his credentials as a war hero, Harrison helped set the modern template for a personally popular “non-ideological” figure to campaign for high office as a “problem solver.” His untimely death only a month into his term has rendered him somewhat of an enigma among presidents, and Cleaves explores this fertile ground with a historian’s eye and a writer’s flourish.

10) John Tyler

By Gary May

Dubbed “His Accidency” by his detractors in Congress, then-Vice President John Tyler became the first American to assume the presidency without ever being elected to that office, quickly seizing power amidst constitutional uncertainty. Noted secret government historian Gary May plumbs the depths of history to detail the hushed negotiations and go-it-alone diplomacy of this renegade president who circumvented congress in an effort to bring Texas into the Union.

11) James K. Polk

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America

By Walter R. Borneman

Few presidents have seen their political careers careen from low to high as often as Polk, who went from Speaker of the House to a twice-defeated gubernatorial candidate before ending up in the highest office in the land. Not often remembered in accordance with his impact, Borneman leaves no stone unturned in this revealing portrait of a man whose work culminated in sweeping victory in the Mexican-American War.

12) Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest

By K. Jack Bauer

Bauer delves deep into the mind of the enigmatic 12th president, who could confound those around him with positions that defied his origins. An anti-slavery southerner who nonetheless himself held slaves, Taylor vied to use the force of his war hero status to hold the Union together in a time of impending civil war, only be to felled by disease in the second year of his presidency.

13) Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President

By Robert J. Rayback

Fillmore was the last president to come out of the Whig Party, which, while having long since faded into history, was a major force in American politics for decades. Rayback deftly weaves together the life of President Fillmore, the party’s last contribution to America’s highest office, with the looming theme of political upheaval that gripped the country in the years before the Civil War.

14) Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son and Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union

By Peter A. Wallner

Even the worst of presidents can make for fascinating subject matter, and Pierce is frequently ranked near the bottom by presidential historians. In his two-volume biography Peter Wallner gamely makes an effort to rehabilitate his subject’s military career from longtime charges of cowardice, and he starkly illuminates the political circumstances and personal failures that Pierce struggled with as the nation drifted ever-further toward a rupture point.

15) James Buchanan

President James Buchanan: A Biography

By Philip S. Klein

Another poorly-ranked president is given his day in Philip Klein’s account of backroom dealings and proverbial smoke-filled rooms as he illustrates that Buchanan’s “political animal” nature blinded him to the necessity of turning down the heat in a culture war that was rapidly reaching a boil. Supporting the expansion of slave territory and the infamous Dredd Scott decision because he believed they helped his political brand, Buchanan’s quest for personal glory in his single term would visit fateful consequences upon his nation for decades to come.

16) Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln Reconsidered

By David Herbert Donald

From humble beginnings to Mount Rushmore, few lives are as quintessentially American as that of the 16th president. Amongst the countless books on Lincoln’s life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Herbert Donald’s stands out for its sheer sweep – this is at once a grand historical epic and a personal tale of inspiration and tragedy. Readers will come away with an appreciation not just for Lincoln’s wartime leadership but for the struggles he endured at home, even as the very idea of the United States itself hung in the balance.

RELATED: 10 Civil War Books That Inform and Entertain

17) Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

By Hans L. Trefousse

It is no coincidence that some of the worst-remembered presidents are those who immediately preceded and followed Honest Abe; standing next to a giant, anyone could look small. But Johnson holds the distinction of being one of only two American presidents to ever be impeached, andstep-by-step, Hans Trefousse lays out how the out-of-his-element Johnson was both overridden by Congress and overwhelmed by the job.

18) Ulysses S. Grant

Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

By Ulysses Grant

A military memoir is a proper vehicle for a figure revered less for his presidency and more for his battlefield heroics. With this account of his time in the Mexican-American War and his successful leadership of the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, Grant shows himself to be a compelling writer in his own right. Crisp and to-the-point prose offers an inside look at battle strategy like few other sources, and Grant’s personal insights into each wars’ merits make for an intriguing read.

RELATED: True Stories About America's Military Heroes

19) Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President

By Ari Hoogenboom

Hayes reasserted presidential power after Congress had taken charge during the two prior presidencies, and for this Ari Hoogenboom makes his case to reassert Hayes’ position in the presidential canon. Though often seen as ineffectual, Hoogenboom recontextualizes his subject’s accomplishments in light of how far the powers of the presidency had fallen, and compellingly relates Hayes’ personal push for progressive policies on a host of issues from public education to prison reform.

20) James A. Garfield

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

By Candice Millard

The title of this account of Garfield’s life conjures images of plot and intrigue in the mind of the reader. So it should, for Candice Millard has written a biography that often reads like a thriller, breathless as it is in retelling the story of a man who rose from poverty to prominence, only to be felled by an assassin’s bullet less than a year after his election. But the bullet itself is only part of the plot–Millard then leads us through a whirlwind of experimental treatments and medical malpractice, as the last days of the president’s life play out like an episode of ER.

21) Chester A. Arthur

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur

By Thomas C. Reeves

Arthur’s presidency was memorable for its quiet confidence, and Arthur himself for vastly surpassing expectations. Thomas Reeves charts the court of a man of limited ambition who was suddenly thrust into power and had to sink or swim. Under his steady leadership the United States suffered no major crises, and upon his retirement he was lauded in a bipartisan way that is almost impossible to imagine today.

22) Grover Cleveland

The Forgotten Conservative: Rediscovering Grover Cleveland

By John Pafford

Most famous for being the only president to be elected on non-consecutive occasions, John Pafford’s work reminds us that Grover Cleveland was much more than a historical anomaly. Cleveland felt a strong calling to “try to do right,” and in his first term he took on political corruption and nepotism in a way many would say is sorely needed in modern America.

23) Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

By Charles W. Calhoun

Interrupting the presidencies of the popular Grover Cleveland (who actually defeated him in the popular vote), Benjamin Harrison was a political savant. Calhoun skillfully lays out how this grandson of America’s 9th president played the system like a fiddle, ousting the more popular Cleveland in an electoral college landslide, and then worked with congress to accomplish much in their limited time with Republican control, including passing the crucial Sherman Antitrust Act that established the baseline with which we break-up monopolies to this day.

24) Grover Cleveland

An Honest President: The Life and Times of Grover Cleveland

By H.P. Jeffers

Everything old was new again as Grover Cleveland reassumed the presidency after a four year absence. He picked up where he left off in his crusade for justice and honesty in political life, and it is this quality of integrity that H.P. Jeffers returns to again and again in this biography, which takes the more personal path of examining how Cleveland’s character shaped his presidency.

25) William McKinley

The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century

By Scott Miller

Miller’s expansive account of the 25th president’s life reads almost like a romance-era thriller. McKinley is both a swashbuckling figure, instigating and achieving sweeping victory for America in the Spanish American War, and a tragic one, cut down shortly after winning reelection. Miller weaves into this epic the story of his assassin, Leon Czolgosz, a large figure in his own right in anarchist history.

26) Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Series

By Edmund Morris

Selected in its entirety by the Modern Library as one of the Best 100 Nonfiction Books of All Time, Morris’ three-volume look at “Teddy’s” life is, like its subject, the stuff of legend. Combining the accuracy of a historical detective with the literary verve of a master dramatist, Morris cruises through the extraordinary life of this politician, progressive, adventurer, explorer and, of course, president.

27) William Howard Taft

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

By Doris Kearns Goodwin

In the crowded field of presidential historians, Doris Kearns Goodwin is in a category all her own. Here she sets her subject’s presidency on not just his own terms, but as part of a titanic battle for the very soul of America, as Taft wages a brutal political war against his one-time friend Theodore Roosevelt. At issue was the widening wealth gap, corporate resistance to regulation, and a muckraking press. Readers need not be forgiven for seeing resemblances to their own time.

28) Woodrow Wilson

By A. Scott Berg

For this comprehensive look at one of the most consequential presidents America has ever seen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Berg was the first to gain access to many primary source documents related to Wilson’s life. Those documents help Berg take readers on a breathless ride through the birth of America as an international power, as Wilson guides the nation through the pivotal role it played in what was a war unlike any seen in human history to that point in time.

29) Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

By John W. Dean and Arthur M. Schlesinger

This unique writing pair (Schlesinger a revered historian and public intellectual, Dean an infamous figure from the Watergate-era Nixon White House) combine to offer a clear and concise look at the breakdown of a president’s public image. Popular upon his death, Warren Harding’s reputation took a posthumous plummet when the tawdry details of both his political and private activities became public. Few know about such things at the presidential level as well as Dean.

30) Calvin Coolidge

By Amity Shlaes

Shlaes gives us an even-handed look at the controversial Coolidge. Viewed by some as an upstanding champion of up-by-your-bootstraps Americanism, and by others as a cold-hearted worshipper of capital; whichever side of the debate you may fall on (or if this is your first forage into it) Coolidge remains an intriguing figure, as Shlaes’ New York Times bestseller here proves.

31) Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency

By Charles Rappleye

A successful businessman who presided over the worst economic crisis in American history, Hoover is somewhat of an enigma. Charles Rappleye gamely dives into the life and mind of this complicated figure, who was both ambitious and timid, personally optimistic and publicly dour, and dismissed as “CEO” by American shareholders after only a single term.

32) Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox

By James MacGregor Burns

An epic presidency (Roosevelt remains the only man ever elected to the office more than twice; he won it four times) gets the epic treatment it deserves from James MacGregor Burns in this Pulitzer Prize-winning two-volume biography.

From his beginnings on the New York political scene to his becoming the most consequential figure on earth during World War II, Burns paints an endlessly captivating portrait of Roosevelt the intellectual, inspirer, warrior and even humorist.

Related: 10 Thought-Provoking Books About Leadership

33) Harry S. Truman

A man as underestimated as perhaps any in American history, “Give ‘em Hell” Harry today gets his due from one of the foremost historians of our time. McCullough thrills his readers with all the trials and tribulations of a bookish man who found himself at the heart of so many epochal events it boggles the mind. The end of World War II, the decision to use the atomic bomb, McCarthyism, the Korean War – McCullough conducts this concert of history with the expertise of a true maestro.

34) Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower: A Life

By Paul Johnson

“I like Ike” was Dwight Eisenhower’s election slogan, and it remains an apt one for a president who has remained popular in the public mind over a half century after leaving office. In this succinct biography Paul Johnson hits all the major beats of Ike’s life, from his modest Kansas upbringing to the shores of Normandy Beach, all the way up to the gates of the White House itself.

35) John F. Kennedy

John Kennedy

First published before his election to the presidency, James MacGregor Burns’ biography of the ‘up and coming’ congressman from Massachusetts gets its spot on this list because of the uniquely personal relation of the author to his subject. Burns and Kennedy were close friends, and the president-to-be granted him unprecedented interviews and access to both himself and the entire Kennedy clan. JFK was and remains a celebritized figure in our national consciousness, and so it is worthy to look at the more personal side of him revealed to Burns here.

36) Lyndon Baines Johnson

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

Goodwin makes a return to this list to chronicle the peaks and valleys of LBJ, to whom she was both a confidante and White House employee. She mines this relationship to offer frank insights into and eyewitness play-by-play of the life of a man whose domestic achievements of Medicare and the Civil/Votings Rights Acts were ultimately overshadowed by his failure in the Vietnam War, resulting in the almost unfathomable fall from winning one of the greatest landslide victories in presidential history to being drummed out of his own party’s primary race just four years later.

Being Nixon: A Man Divided

By Evan Thomas

This was the age of upheaval, and the political career of Richard Nixon waxed and waned with the times in true rollercoaster fashion. Thomas expertly guides us through Nixon’s early triumphs as Ike’s vice president through his nail-biting loss to JFK, from the misery of his defeat in a California gubernatorial bid to his shocking comeback to the presidency and landslide reelection, and finally, of course, to the most infamous moment of this remarkable life, as he becomes the first, and only president to ever resign from office.

RELATED: 8 Revealing Books About Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

38) Gerald R. Ford

Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life

By James Cannon and Scott Cannon

The stunning series of events that led Gerald Ford’s elevation to the presidency (the resignations of Vice President Agnew and then President Nixon) sets the stage for the Cannons’ attempt to rehabilitate the image of an “accidental president” often mocked for being in over his head. The authors make a compelling case that the humble and honest Ford was exactly the figure America needed to follow the deception and corruption of the Nixon years, even if Americans did not at the time realize it.

39) James Earl Carter

The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter’s Journey Beyond the White House

By Douglas Brinkley

Renowned historian Douglas Brinkley gives a unique take on a unique figure. While most anyone would consider the American presidency the pinnacle of personal achievement, Brinkley makes the case that for Jimmy Carter the highest office in his country was but a stepping stone to his later work on behalf of causes and peoples all over the world. Utilizing the relationships he’d built in office allowed Carter to travel the world as a statesman and humanitarian in his long post-presidential life, advocating with faithful zeal on behalf of the many disenfranchised.

40) Ronald Wilson Reagan

Reagan: The Life

In both life and death Ronald Reagan was as much an avatar of his political movement as perhaps any president; to this day Republican presidential candidates go out of their way to compare themselves to “The Gipper” in all ways possible. Revered by many for his infectious optimism and Cold War warrior’s zeal, reviled by others for his administration’s multiple scandals and controversial economic practices, the actor-turned-president was a true American original, and Brands’ expansive account of his life will give interested readers all they could hope for.

RELATED: Step Inside the White House With These Entertaining Reads

41) George H.W. Bush

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

For the man who presided over the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and in the sands of Iraq, the first President Bush is today considered by many to be a historical footnote. Jon Meacham here makes the forceful case for a reevaluation of that conventional wisdom, as he draws on Bush’s personal diaries to paint a picture of a cerebral man who guided the nation through tumultuous times according to what he thought best for the country, even as it took its toll on his personal popularity.

42) William Jefferson Clinton

The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House

By John F. Harris

An apt title for the young man who found himself perpetually under siege from the day his presidency began, Harris’ appraisal of Bill Clinton’s life continually returns to the theme of survival. From losing the Arkansas governor’s mansion only to return, from his disastrous national debut at the 1988 DNC to his triumphant ascent to the presidency, from the ignominy of impeachment to leaving office with the highest approval ratings on record, Harris’ work offers an up close and personal view of a man who has inspired, frustrated and beguiled on his way to becoming one of the foremost figures of the modern era.

43) George W. Bush

Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House

By Peter Baker

Baker’s choice to feature Dick Cheney so prominently in both his title and his book on the years of “Dubya” is a fitting one, for few presidents have been so inextricably tied to their junior partners. However, Baker goes far beyond the simple explanation of Bush as Cheney’s puppet; rather, through hundreds of interviews and previously unreleased memos, he arrests our attention with the story of a friendship gone awry, from the president’s admiration of Cheney’s hard-nosed tactics that helped him eke out the closest election in American history to his disgust in their final years as one of the most disliked White House tandems the country has ever seen.

44) Barack Obama

The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama

By David Remnick

Any biography of the nation’s first African American president must address not only the life of its endlessly fascinating subject, but perform on-the-fly contextualization of the historical significance of something so fresh in our minds. Remnick clearly relishes the challenge, and his bestselling account of Obama’s life and task dovetails beautifully with an exploration of how America’s disgraceful past on the issue of race explosively gave way to its crowning achievement.

Related: The Barack Obama Reading List

45) Donald Trump

TrumpNation

By Timothy L. O'Brien

How prescient O’Brien’s title was, as we found ourselves at this strange point in history where it was indeed Donald Trump’s America. True to form, after granting the author dozens of hours of interviews and traveling privileges, Trump then turned around and unsuccessfully sued O’Brien, claiming the author misrepresented his wealth as smaller than it “bigly” was. (Years later, Trump's leaked tax reforms would vindicate O'Brien's depiction of Trump's finances.)

Likewise true to form, the president himself makes perhaps the best case for reading O’Brien’s book: he doesn’t want you to read it.

46) Joseph Biden

Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now

By Evan Osnos

National Book Award-winner Evan Osnos published this biography of President Joe Biden less than a week before Election Day 2020. At just 193 pages, the biography is surprisingly concise. But by blending interviews with both Biden and contemporary figures who know him best, including Barack Obama, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg, Osnos paints a picture of what the Biden presidency might look like—and why he may be exactly who this country needs right now.

Related: What Are Joe Biden's Favorite Books?

Featured photo courtesy of Wikipedia

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44 Presidential Biographies to Add to Your Reading List

Kate Scott is a bookstagrammer and strategic web designer serving women business owners and creative entrepreneurs. Follow her on Instagram @ parchmentgirl and visit her website at katescott.co/books .

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Ready to dive into history and learn more about the forty-four men who led these United (and sometimes not-so-united) States? Check out these definitive presidential biographies!

Ready to dive into history and read more about the forty-four men who have ruled over these United (and sometimes not-so-united) States? Check out these definitive presidential biographies. | Books | Books to Read | Reading | Reading List | History | American History | Presidents Day

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow— Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, this nearly one thousand–page tome is the definitive biography of America’s first president.

John Adams by David McCullough— Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, this is one of my favorite presidential biographies because it has the rare combination of stellar historical research and beautiful, evocative writing.

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham— This #1 New York Times bestseller explores Jefferson’s life through a political lens and offers a balanced view of the founding father’s strengths and weaknesses.

James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger— At four hundred pages, this book offers an approachable introduction to America’s last—and oft-overlooked—founding father.

The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics by William J. Cooper— This new biography argues that John Adams’s less famous son has been sidelined by history and should be honored as a founding father alongside his predecessors.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

Martin Van Buren and the American Political System by Donald B. Cole — This book provides an excellent introduction to the president you’d never heard of until that funny Google commercial came along.

Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens— This book focuses on Harrison’s role in shaping America’s westward expansion and federal Indian policy in the Old Northwest.

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter R. Borneman— This book offers a fascinating overview of Polk’s role in the westward expansion of America: wresting control of California and much of the southwest from Mexico, bringing Texas into the Union, and liberating most of Oregon from Britain’s grasp.

Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Bauer— This biography explores the contradictory nature of America’s twelfth president.

Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President by Robert J. Rayback

Franklin Pierce by Michael F. Holt— This book offers a concise overview of the troubled presidency of Franklin Pierce and posits that the fourteenth president placed party over politics to the detriment of the nation.

President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip S. Klein— This short biography explores the life of the man who all but ensured the ignition of the Civil War and has been consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David O. Stewart— This book details the impeachment of Lincoln’s successor and the chaos of post-Civil War politics.

Grant by Ron Chernow— This outstanding #1 New York Times bestselling biography argues that Grant has been unfairly judged by history and was far more complex than we give him credit for.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior & President by Ari Hoogenboom

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard— This book chronicles James Garfield’s rise from poverty to the presidency and details the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy.

Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur by Thomas C. Reeves— This book recounts the life, early career as a lawyer and civil servant, and administration of the twenty-first president.

Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character by Alyn Brodsky

Benjamin Harrison by Charles W. Calhoun— This succinct biography offers an overview of the younger Harrison’s life as a leading Indiana lawyer, Lincoln campaigner, senator, and president.

President McKinley: Architect of the American Century by Robert W. Merry— This book contends that McKinley’s considerable achievements were overshadowed by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, and seeks to restore his place in the presidential pantheon.

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

The William Howard Taft Presidency by Lewis L. Gould— This book offers a provocative analysis of Taft’s successes and failures in office and presents a compelling picture of the only president to later serve as a chief justice.

Wilson by A. Scott Berg— This compelling biography offers one of the most personal portraits of Woodrow Wilson, thanks to the author’s access to two recently-discovered caches of papers written by people close to the president.

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes— This New York Times bestselling biography chronicles the unlikely ascent of a small town New England youth to the presidency and offers a compelling portrait of the man who restored trust in Washington following the disastrous Harding administration.

Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency by Charles Rappleye— The result of detailed research, this this book argues that Hoover is not quite the passive president he is often portrayed as.

Truman by David McCullough— Another of David McCullough’s renowned presidential biographies, this book offers a nuanced portrait of the president who oversaw the conclusion of World War II and the Korean War.

Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith— In this definitive biography, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s apprenticeship under General MacArthur, his wartime affair with Kay Summersby, and the 1952 Republican convention that catapulted him into the White house.

An Unfinished Life: Robert F. Kennedy by Robert Dallek

Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President by Robert Dallek— Originally a two-volume biography, this book has been condensed into a more readable four hundred pages of insightful analysis of Johnson’s presidency.

Richard Nixon: A Life by John A. Farrell— This uncompromising biography of America’s darkest president explores the many twists and turns that found Nixon at the point of impeachment.

Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter by Randall Balmer— This fascinating book places Carter’s politics in the context of his faith and documents how he challenged the conventional marriage of Evangelical Christianity with conservative politics.

Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power by Lou Cannon— This is the first in a two-volume biography. The second volume is President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime .

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham

The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House by John F. Harris— The author of this biography covered Clinton for the Washington Post for six of his eight years in office, giving him unparalleled insight into the inner workings of the Clinton White House.

Bush by Jean Edward Smith— This book offers a well-rounded look at the younger Bush’s presidency and documents how the president’s tendency to ignore his advisers led to some disastrous decisions.

Obama: The Call of History by Peter Baker

The Making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnston— This biography by a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist starts with Trump’s family origins and takes readers all the way up to the White House, detailing his long history of racism, mafia ties, shady business dealings, and ties to Russia.

Tell me about the best presidential biographies you’ve read in the comments!

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17 Great Books About American Presidents for Presidents’ Day Weekend

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By Radhika Jones and Pamela Paul

Feb. 17, 2017

There’s nothing like a big juicy presidential biography when you’re looking for guidance about history’s long and hard lessons. We’ve selected some of our favorites by and about presidents from the past few decades — and including one that reaches back into the 19th century. Here’s to an inspiring Presidents’ Day weekend.

WASHINGTON: “Washington: A Life,” by Ron Chernow

Before there was “Hamilton,” there was Washington, and Ron Chernow’s magisterial, deeply researched biography of our first president. Chernow excels at bringing mythic figures into full-fleshed life. As the Book Review noted when the book came out in 2010, “readers will finish this book feeling as if they have actually spent time with human beings.”

ADAMS: “John Adams,” by David McCullough

America’s once overlooked second president gets the full treatment from the best-selling author of multiple books of history. Adams, McCullough points out, was hard-working, moral, enormously intelligent, wise about politics and prescient about the American Revolution. Michiko Kakutani called the book “a lucid and compelling work that should do for Adams’s reputation what Mr. McCullough’s 1992 book, ‘Truman,’ did for Harry S. Truman.”

JEFFERSON: “American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson,” by Joseph Ellis

Jefferson remains one of the most controversial — admired and condemned — of American presidents, and Ellis’s book aims (and succeeds) at exploring some of the contradictions behind this enigmatic figure. The result is a fascinating and accessible portrayal of a complicated man, both in private and in public. As Brent Staples wrote in the Book Review, Ellis “is a remarkably clear writer, mercifully free of both the groveling and the spirit of attack that have dominated the subject in the past.”

“Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy,” by Annette Gordon-Reed

This important work of history, published in 1997, argued persuasively that Thomas Jefferson had fathered the children of one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. The book caused a sensation in Jefferson scholarship, and was subsequently backed up by DNA research on Hemings’s descendants. The book is equally important in uncovering the ways in which historians long discounted the relationship, and became, as our reviewer correctly predicted, “the next-to-last word for every historian who writes about this story hereafter.”

JACKSON: “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House,” by Jon Meacham

If anything, Andrew Jackson is even more of the lightning-rod figure today than he was when Meacham wrote this biography in 2008, with university campuses nationwide denouncing his legacy at the same time that President Trump has hung a portrait of the seventh president in the Oval Office. President from 1829 to 1837, a period that became known as the Age of Jackson, Jackson was the nation’s most significant populist president. “American Lion,” Janet Maslin noted, “balances the best of Jackson with the worst” and Meacham’s biography is cogent, fair-minded and insightful.

LINCOLN: “Lincoln,” by David Herbert Donald

There are so many books published about Lincoln every year — probably more books in total than on any other president — that prizes exist solely to honor books about our 16th president. Yet this (fairly massive) 1995 biography by David Herbert Donald, a Harvard historian, pulls together much of the scholarship into a definitive single volume that views Lincoln’s failings and fumbling as much as his achievements. Donald succeeds in demythologizing and humanizing one of the most admired public figures in American history.

GRANT: “Personal Memoirs,” by Ulysses S. Grant

There are several great biographies of Grant, including one coming from Ron Chernow this fall, but it’s quite possible that no one wrote about our 18th president and former commanding general of the United States Army better than Grant himself. Considered to be one of the gold standards of military memoirs, Grant’s book was an instant best seller, hailed by both critics and the public for its honesty and high literary quality, and has remained in print and on college curriculums ever since. Grant finished the book several days before he died in 1885.

McKINLEY: “The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters,” by Karl Rove

Surprised to know that George W. Bush’s former senior adviser is also an amateur historian? Some might be even more surprised to know that the book is quite good, with widely positive reviews from critics when it came out in 2015. Rove was long obsessed with McKinley’s election and with the repercussions that particular political moment has had since, down to the unexpected victory of Donald Trump. According to our reviewer, Rove’s “richly detailed, moment-by-moment account in ‘The Triumph of William McKinley’ brings to life the drama of an electoral contest whose outcome seemed uncertain to the candidate and his handlers until the end.”

THEODORE ROOSEVELT: “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,” by Edmund Morris

It was this Pulitzer Prize-winning book that inspired Ronald Reagan to request the author, Edmund Morris, to be his official biographer. (The result of that endeavor, “Dutch,” didn’t go entirely according to plan.) The first of a three-part biography of Teddy Roosevelt (the other two volumes, “Theodore Rex” and “Colonel Roosevelt,” were equally acclaimed), this book is considered one of the best biographies of the 20th century. Our reviewer described it as “magnificent,” calling it “a sweeping narrative of the outward man and a shrewd examination of his character,” a rare work “that is both definitive for the period it covers and fascinating to read for sheer entertainment.”

WILSON: “Wilson,” by A. Scott Berg

Woodrow Wilson is one of those figures who go in and out of fashion, and he is currently very much out of vogue. Nonetheless, this fascinating 2013 book by the best-selling author of acclaimed biographies of Charles Lindbergh and Katharine Hepburn tells the tumultuous and unlikely story of the rise and terrible fall of our 28th president, who catapulted from the presidency of Princeton University to the governorship of New Jersey and into the Oval Office, with shockingly little government experience. The book begins with Wilson’s victorious welcome in Europe for the Treaty of Versailles; the rest follows like a haunted Shakespearean tragedy in vivid novelistic prose.

F.D.R.: “No Ordinary Time. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This 1994 look at Franklin and Eleanor during the Second World War became a massive best seller for good reason. Written with the same historical nuance and narrative flair as her “Team of Rivals,” Goodwin’s book combines political, social and cultural history into a meaty (759 pages) but highly readable account of two extraordinary figures. As our reviewer noted, this story of a marriage is also an “ambitiously conceived and imaginatively executed participants’-eye view of the United States in the war years.”

EISENHOWER: “Eisenhower in War and Peace,” by Jean Edward Smith

Only a quarter of this book is devoted to Eisenhower’s presidency and beyond. Instead, the focus here is on the military experience that prepared Eisenhower for leadership: the ability to make do with limited means, to delegate authority, to cooperate with allies and keep up morale. It added up to a presidency marked by competence and stability. “Eisenhower’s greatest accomplishment may well have been to make his presidency look bland and boring: In this sense, he was very different from the flamboyant Roosevelt, and that’s why historians at first underestimated him,” the Yale historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote in his 2012 review. “Jean Edward Smith is among the many who no longer do.”

KENNEDY: “A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House,” by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Schlesinger served in the Kennedy White House, but far from clouding this history of Kennedy’s presidency, his closeness makes his a unique account of the era. The brevity of Kennedy’s tenure finds its counterpoint in this encyclopedic chronicle of those tumultuous years: the victory over Nixon, the challenges from Moscow and Southeast Asia, the momentum of civil rights. Our reviewer’s only complaint: He wished the book had been longer than its thousand-plus pages.

JOHNSON: “Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson,” by Robert A. Caro

Robert Caro, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Power Broker,” has written four volumes of his biography of Lyndon B. Johnson so far, with more to come — making the selection of just one of his installments a challenge. But then again, this book is an easy win. In the words of our reviewer, the former Times columnist Anthony Lewis: “The book reads like a Trollope novel, but not even Trollope explored the ambitions and the gullibilities of men as deliciously as Robert Caro does. I laughed often as I read. And even though I knew what the outcome of a particular episode would be, I followed Caro’s account of it with excitement. I went back over chapters to make sure I had not missed a word.”

NIXON: “Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man,” by Garry Wills

“It is no small undertaking to write about the intellectual history of the United States, provide an analysis of modern politics, and keep track of where Richard Nixon fits into it all. Therefore Wills’s book is very large.” That’s Robert B. Semple Jr. in the Book Review, taking stock of Wills’s extraordinary portrait of Richard Nixon, published in 1970, in the context of “a nation whose faith has been corrupted, whose youth knows it has been had, whose president is president only because he has been able to sell a sufficient number of equally deluded souls on the proposition that he can bring us together today ‘because he can find the ground where we last stood together years ago.’” Elsewhere in The Times, John Leonard wrote that “Wills achieves the not inconsiderable feat of making Richard Nixon a sympathetic even tragic — figure, while at the same time being appalled by him.” Nixon would serve nearly four more years before his resignation, but with regard to the verdict on his presidency, Wills had the last word. And still has it.

REAGAN: “ Reagan,” by Lou Cannon

This biography came out in the second year of Reagan’s first term, but its underlying theme, in the words of our reviewer — “that Mr. Reagan’s career represents a triumph of personality and intuition over ignorance” — stands the test of time. Cannon’s bracingly critical approach might strike a chord with current consumers of news: “Mr. Cannon pursues Mr. Reagan’s ‘lies’ and ‘ignorance’ relentlessly, from an occasion on which Mr. Reagan ‘freely lied’ about his acting experience and salary when he was breaking into Hollywood to his presidential news conferences which have become ‘adventures into the uncharted regions of his mind.’ The author is careful to make the distinction between ignorance and stupidity. Mr. Reagan, he says, has ‘common sense,’ but his photographic memory is cluttered with dubious information gleaned from his favorite periodicals, Reader’s Digest and Human Events.”

OBAMA: “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,” by Barack Obama

In 1995, Barack Obama was a writer and law professor in his mid-30s, with little evidence of the presidential about him. His memoir traces his roots; it doesn’t prophesy his future. (“After college in Los Angeles and New York City, he sets out to become a community organizer,” our reviewer writes. “Mr. Obama admits he’s unsure exactly what the phrase means, but is attracted by the ideal of people united in community and purpose.”) But Obama’s voice, its cadences now familiar worldwide, provides a through line from the writer who “bravely tackled the complexities of his remarkable upbringing” to the leader who embodied those complexities in the highest office in the land.

An earlier version of this feature included an illustration that was published in error. The book that was shown with the description of Lou Cannon’s “Reagan” was in fact another work by the same author, “President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime.”

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History Books » American History » Books on American Presidents

The best books on american presidents, recommended by h w brands.

The best presidential biographies contain insights into both the personal and the political, says the historian HW Brands. He chooses the best biographies of some of the greatest American presidents.

Interview by Eve Gerber

Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman

Life of Andrew Jackson by James Parton

Abraham Lincoln by John Hay & John Nicolay

The Crisis of the Old Order by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol I by Robert Caro

1 Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman

2 life of andrew jackson by james parton, 3 abraham lincoln by john hay & john nicolay, 4 the crisis of the old order by arthur m. schlesinger, jr., 5 the path to power: the years of lyndon johnson, vol i by robert caro.

Y ou were among the distinguished historians invited to advise President Obama during his first year in office. Do you believe that the stories of past presidencies contain clues to solving the problems of the present?

For your first book choice, you picked Washington, by Douglas Freeman. Why does this work make your list?

It’s the closest thing we have to a definitive account of Washington’s life. Freeman was a fan—there is no doubt about that. He was a Virginian, and he identified with the greatest Virginian in history. It was a labour of love. Freeman was a full-time journalist; he was the editor of a paper in Richmond, VA. Nonetheless, he found time to write seven volumes on Washington. I won’t say that the facts speak entirely for themselves in Freeman’s work; he marshals the facts, but he mainly writes from the perspective that the more we know, the more we’ll understand the great man. If you have the time and the leisure, it’s the best way to get to know Washington.

The first volume was published in 1948. How has our understanding of Washington evolved since then?

The next book you selected was the first scholarly biography written about our seventh president, Andrew Jackson—and it was published just 15 years after his death. Why did you choose this Life of Andrew Jackson by James Parton?

Parton was the great American biographer of the 19th century, and Jackson was his first important biography.

President Jackson was the most popular figure of the 19th century. He was even more popular than Abraham Lincoln , who was beloved in the North and hated in the South. Jackson was the successor to George Washington in the eyes of three generations of Americans. Understanding the era of Jackson is absolutely essential to understanding what it meant for America to become a democratic nation.

Parton’s is one of the first biographies that combined scholarly research and the journalist’s technique of interviewing. Parton wrote so close to Jackson’s lifetime that he was able to talk to people—he was able to refute and confirm the myths about the man. He was able to supplement the written record with what remained of the oral record. Those who have written about Jackson from a far greater remove have to envy that opportunity. One of the hardest things for a historian to do is to get a sense of the physical presence of their subjects, and the kind of impact they had on the people around them. Parton was able to capture all that, because he was roughly of the same era as Jackson.

Unfortunately, these days Parton is forgotten. Although he wrote several wonderful biographies, few people have ever heard of him.

Why do you think that’s true?

Many perceive history as a cumulative venture. We know more about Jackson, for example, than Parton did, because we learn from his work, and the work of everyone who has written about Jackson since. When it comes to nonfiction, many think: The newer the better. I don’t think that’s true. We can forget as much as we accumulate.

Next is Abraham Lincoln: A History. Why did you choose this 10-volume work?

Another labour of love, it was written by two young men who adored Abraham Lincoln . John Nicolay was Lincoln’s personal secretary. John Hay was Nicolay’s assistant. They were with Lincoln in the White House. They lived through—and were at the centre of—the Civil War . When Lincoln was assassinated, they believed the greatest man in American history had been taken from the American people.

This was written in an era before presidents’ files were classified for security reasons. Nicolay and Hay were the secretaries; they had the records, and they used those records to write this very detailed story of Lincoln’s life and presidency. Usually biographers don’t have an inside view, but Hay and Nicolay did, so they could supplement what Lincoln’s papers conveyed with their own memories of the great man.

Hay in particular had a literary flair. There is some question as to whether Hay composed some of Lincoln’s most admired letters. Usually works this long don’t evoke admiration for their fluency—just their thoroughness. But in this case, the diligence is there and so is the literary quality. And a lot of it consists of quotes from Lincoln, who himself was a wonderful writer. So you get the voice of the subject, and then you get the background from people who were there. Their work really remains unsurpassed.

Has our understanding of Lincoln changed a lot since this biography was published in 1890?

People who write about Lincoln these days don’t cast him in quite the same heroic mold. To some extent, this is to the good—if you really want to understand someone, don’t start out by thinking he’s a hero. On the other hand, what Hay and Nicolay lacked in objectivity, they made up for in other ways.

Let’s step into the 20th century with The Age of Roosevelt, by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

This is another one that was written by a fan. Schlesinger was convinced that the New Deal saved American capitalism, and he wanted to tell the story.

Schlesinger was probably the best storyteller among the great historians of the mid-20th century. He had an eye for detail and a telling anecdote. He could make a point without beating readers over the head with it. He also had a really good sense of politics. His Age of Roosevelt is much more than a biography; it’s really a story of FDR’s political milieu. Schlesinger crafted paragraph-long portraits of people that are quite memorable and that captured their essence. If you want to know about the major political figures of the time, Schlesinger is the first place to look.

This work won the Bancroft and Francis Parkman prizes, but it is often overlooked when others discuss Schlesinger’s impact on American history. Why?

Let’s move on to another unfinished work: The Years of Lyndon Johnson . Why is Robert Caro’s incomplete work nevertheless so vital?

Caro is another master storyteller. Like Parton, Caro supplements the written record with fresh evidence. He was a journalist. He interviewed all sorts of people and got information on Johnson that others hadn’t uncovered. He tells a great, gripping story. One of his volumes on Lyndon Johnson is called The Path to Power. Caro is fascinated by how people acquire power, what they use power to accomplish, and how power changes them.

I’m pretty sure Caro came to Texas thinking he would write one volume, but he realised that there was an epic tale to tell, and he stuck with it. When the next volume is completed, I’m sure it will be seen as the masterwork on Johnson. But each volume is terrific in its own right.

Between Caro’s second and third volumes, you wrote a reassessment of Johnson’s foreign policy as president. It’s as revisionist as history gets. Can you crystallise the main point of your book for us?

Johnson did a pretty good job in guiding American foreign policy, except for Vietnam. Johnson kept the NATO alliance together when it was under substantial strain. He managed to avoid major crises with the Soviet Union. He helped put India on a path to self-sufficiency. He prevented a war between Greece and Turkey over the island of Cyprus. And he handled the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours as well as any American president could have handled it. So as I say, a lot of bad stuff could have happened during the 1960s, but didn’t. One of the reasons is that Johnson handled most aspects of foreign policy adeptly.

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All five works you’ve chosen have at least three volumes—and one has 10. Must a biography be voluminous to paint a full picture of a presidency?

To paint a full picture? Yes. But to paint a compelling picture? I have to say no, because I’ve committed a few one-volumes myself. As much as I value these multi-volume works, I do think you can tell a great story between the two covers of one book.

What makes for a great presidential biography?

You have to delve into the personal side of the president in a way that gets at the character of the individual—but you also have to get the wider context right. Presidential biographies are generally written by historians or by journalists. The journalists tend to get the personal side right; the historians tend to get the historical side right. The best presidential biographies get both right—the life and the times.

How are you celebrating Presidents Day this year?

By working on a biography of Ulysses S Grant.

This interview was published in February 2011.

November 7, 2012

Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]

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H W Brands is the bestselling author of 22 books, including two Pulitzer Prize finalists. He has written biographies of Presidents Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lyndon Johnson. Professor Brands is a graduate of Stanford and received his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin, where he currently teaches. H W Brands’ website H W Brands on Wikipedia

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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Reading the Best Biographies of All Time

U.S. Presidents

Here is the roadmap for my journey through the best presidential biographies (for more detail see my site: www.bestpresidentialbios.com) .

Ratings are on a scale of 0 to 5 stars, with equal weight given to my subjective assessment of: (1) how enjoyable the biography was to read and (2) the biography’s historical value (including its comprehensive coverage and critical analysis of its subject).

Blue titles indicate Pulitzer Prize WINNERS. Blue italicized titles indicate Pulitzer Prize finalists.

This list was most recently updated October 9, 2016. If I’m missing a great presidential biography that you’ve read, please let me know!

Every book I review has been purchased by me. Bestpresidentialbios.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

8 Captivating Presidential Biographies

Brush up on your american history with these riveting reads.

Lauren Vespoli,

washington adams jackson lincoln grant roosevelt roosevelt nixon bios

In February we commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on President's Day — an ideal time to remember those two legendary leaders as well as other influential American presidents. The following eight books are some of the best presidential biographies to come out in the past 30 years. They offer absorbing portraits of men faced with daunting challenges, usually both personal and political, and frank analyses of their often-complicated legacies.

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You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington

by Alexis Coe (2020)

This is a clear-eyed and occasionally playful portrayal of an American icon by Coe, a historian and cohost of the Presidents Are People Too! podcast. She debunks myths big and small, like the narrative that Washington's mother, Mary, was an obstruction to George's success and the oft-repeated story of his wooden teeth (they were actually made of ivory and teeth from other humans or animals, or sometimes built with a mix of metals). Rather than detailing all of his Revolutionary War battles, the book focuses on Washington's skills as a diplomat and spy. Coe breaks up the narrative with creative formatting, such as a timeline of diseases he survived (including malaria, smallpox and tuberculosis).

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by David McCullough (2001)

This Pulitzer Prize winner portrays the founding father and second president as a straight-talking, modest Yankee who was also one of the most influential architects of a young America. We follow Adams from the Boston Massacre and on to the Continental Congress, the court of King George II, where he represented American interests, and the White House (he was the first president to reside there). Throughout, McCullough incorporates Adams’ rich trove of correspondence with his beloved wife, Abigail, and with his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson, to show how these two central relationships shaped his extraordinary life.

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Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times

by David S. Reynolds (2020)

More than 16,000 books have been published about President Lincoln, but Abe manages to add a new dimension to the conversation with a focus on how Lincoln's engagement with the high and low culture of the antebellum period shaped the way he steered the country through the Civil War. As a cultural historian, Reynolds is able to introduce a cast of colorful characters, currently obscure but well known at the time, such as Charles Blondin, a tightrope performer who crossed Niagara Falls in 1859 with his agent on his back. Lincoln was often compared to Blondin, as he attempted to balance between liberals and conservatives in order to lead the country to emancipation.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

by Jon Meacham (2008)

This lively biography — another Pulitzer Prize winner — looks at how Andrew Jackson's stormy presidency shaped the country's highest office, for better and, quite often, worse. Meacham makes the case that Jackson was responsible for the expansion of the executive branch and shows how he pioneered what we think of as modern politics, including campaigning directly to the American people and contentious partisanship. The book also looks at the political repercussions of scandals within Jackson's inner circle, such as the Petticoat Affair, which roiled his cabinet and led to the rise of his successor, Martin Van Buren. Meacham presents this controversial president as embodying the best and worst sides of America, in his unwavering belief in the common man and his vicious policy of Native American removal and support of the slave trade.

by Ron Chernow (2017)

Ulysses S. Grant was long cast as a drunken Civil War general and corruption-plagued president, despite his leadership of the Union Army to victory. Historian and Alexander Hamilton author Chernow repudiates that reputation, painting Grant as a brilliant military tactician, and focuses on his commitment to Reconstruction. As president, Grant passed legislation and sent federal troops to suppress the Klu Klux Klan and earned the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm and wise protector of our race.” But Chernow also explores in great detail the man's flaws, such as his struggles with alcoholism and overly trusting nature.

Theodore Rex

by Edmund Morris (2001)

This is book two in Morris’ masterful trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt, published 21 years after the Pulitzer Prize–winning first book. Just as fascinating, Theodore Rex focuses on Roosevelt's two-term presidency, beginning in 1901, when at age 42 he became the youngest person to ever become president. Morris captures the man's energy and charisma, traits that helped him broker an end to the Russo-Japanese War (which won him a Nobel Peace Prize), maneuver the construction of the Panama Canal and lay the foundation for the National Park System — and that informed his proclivity for naked swims in the Potomac and rounds of boxing with his cabinet members — as well as his missteps on race relations.

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in WWII

by Doris Kearns Goodwin (1994)

Goodwin weaves together the domestic lives of the Roosevelts and the nation during the upheaval during and after World War II in, yes, another Pulitzer Prize winner and a huge best seller. Drawing from 86 interviews with people who knew the president and first lady personally, the famed historian includes a wonderful level of personal detail — during the war years, for instance, Franklin would help himself fall asleep by imagining that he was sledding at his childhood home in Hyde Park, New York. She also describes how, as Franklin focused on winning the war, the remarkable Eleanor battled her husband to secure the home front and preserve New Deal gains , as well as make progress in civil rights, housing, and welfare.

Richard Nixon: The Life

by John Farrell (2017)

This unsparing and insightful bio includes new evidence of Nixon's meddling in Lyndon B. Johnson's attempt at a Vietnam War peace deal, substantiated by a cache of newly unearthed notes written by Nixon's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. Farrell, a former political journalist, draws on interviews with Nixon's friends, family and associates, which were only unsealed in 2012, in order to show how Nixon created his political persona as a champion of “the forgotten man” and successfully fanned race and class divisions in the country — and also how the Watergate scandal that forced Nixon's resignation wasn't an anomaly but the last act in a decade-long pattern of illegal activity that left a dark legacy.

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11 Best Presidential Biographies to Read in 2023

Between Presidents' Day and the news of former president Jimmy Carter entering hospice care at age 98, this has been a week for reflection on the legacies of some of the most impactful leaders in U.S. history. Here are 11 of the best presidential biographies that stand the test of time.

1. His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life

By jonathan alter.

While Carter has long been cast as an ineffective president, he has inspired admiration for decades for his public service after leaving office. Jonathan Alter's 2020 biography of the enigmatic former president shines light on a complicated and often poorly understood man and his legacy.

The book has received endorsements from noted journalists such as Dan Rather, who declared it "the definitive biography" on Carter, and the New York Times ' Peter Baker, who called it "a vivid three-dimensional portrait that explores his virtues and flaws with great insight." Book critic Michael Schaub praised the book for reflecting Carter "as a real person, as flawed as anyone else, and not as a saint," and said: "It's a book that's bound to fascinate anyone with an interest in American history."

by David McCullough

This 1992 biography of the 33rd president won the celebrated popular historian his first of two Pulitzer Prizes. (The second came less than a decade later for his biography of John Adams.) Harvard professor Robert N. Stavins called Truman "a remarkable book about an ordinary man who did great things."

3. First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton

By david maraniss.

Almost everything you need to know about the Clinton presidency can be found in this 1995 title by journalist David Maraniss, according to NPR's Kitty Eisele, who called it "a character study par excellence." A true authority on #42, Maraniss won a Pulitzer for his reporting on then-presidential candidate Clinton only three years earlier.

4. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

By joseph j. ellis.

In his 1997 review for The New York Times , Brent Staples described American Sphinx as "fresh and uncluttered but rich in historical context" and praised Ellis for his clear, nuanced, and hyperbole-free writing. The judging panel of the National Book Foundation agreed, and the book eventually took home the highly coveted award in the nonfiction category.

5. Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson III

By robert a. caro.

Book three in this colossal four-part biography of the 36th president won Caro both a Pulitzer and the National Book Award. Journalist Ronald Brownstein, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist himself for his reporting on presidential campaigns, called Caro's classic "the best non-fiction book about modern U.S. politics." At age 87, the author is still working on the last volume of his Johnson biography.

6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

By doris kearns goodwin.

Bill Gates named this one of his five favorite books, calling it "the best guide to leading a country." The book "feels especially relevant now, when our country is once again facing violent insurrection, difficult questions about race, and deep ideological divides," he said. "Goodwin is one of America’s best biographers, and Team of Rivals is arguably her masterpiece."

7. Washington: A Life

By ron chernow.

Another prolific biographer of American historical figures, Chernow won the National Book Award in 1990 for his book on the Morgan financial dynasty and has also written acclaimed biographies of John D. Rockefeller , Alexander Hamilton and Ulysses S. Grant , among others. But it is the author's 2010 biography of the nation's first president, which won him both a Pulitzer and the American History Book Prize, that stands out.

Writing for Esquire , literary critic Adam Morgan named it one of the 50 best biographies of all time and said : "Chernow will change your impression of Washington from a boring, frowning statesman to something like an 18th-century punk rocker who liked to dance with women and hunt foxes, all while pulling no punches when it comes to Washington’s military failures and ownership of slaves."

8. John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit

By james traub.

As the son of John and Abigail Adams, John Quincy was born a son of the revolution. With that distinction also came the expectation that he would one day follow in his father's footsteps and ascend to the presidency. Lucky for author James Traub (and all lovers of American history), Adams kept a journal for nearly all his life, and the 14,000-page document serves as the backbone of this unique biography. The journal naturally provides a fascinating glimpse into Adams' political career, but perhaps more notably it provides readers with one of the most intimate portraits of a president's inner life.

Critic Thomas Filbin praised the author for taking full advantage of the terrific source, writing : "Traub has admirably captured the man inside the public figure, giving us a view of a typical New England grandee, puritanical at his core, molded as a traditionalist republican with no love for pure democracy."

9. Richard Nixon: The Life

By john a. farrell.

Farrell's 2017 biography of the disgraced 37th president was a finalist for the Pulitzer and the winner of several prizes in history writing. In a review for NPR, author Jason Heller praised the book for bringing the "dichotomy between brooding schemer and extroverted leader [that] has long defined the Nixon dynamic... into the most vivid — and the most startling — relief to date." Journalist John Harwood provided glowing praise on Twitter , writing: "It's hard to say emphatically enough how good Jack Farrell's Nixon biography is - in its literary style, scholarship, and analytical acuity... just terrific."

10. And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

By jon meacham.

Another Lincoln book? We know, but we would be remiss not to include this latest effort by one of the great presidential biographers of recent decades. Meacham has previously published biographies on Thomas Jefferson , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Andrew Jackson (for which he won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize) and George H.W. Bush , but his latest book on the 16th, and arguably most consequential American president looks to be at least as good as anything he's written up to this point.

Retired general and current political commentator Barry R. McCaffrey offered this praise : "Just finished Jon Meacham’s magnificent biography of President Lincoln. A brilliant work of great importance. The most important figure in American history. Great wisdom. A political unifier. A man of enormous personal moral courage. The kindest of all men."

11. Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America

By maggie haberman.

For those with a penchant for masochism, journalist Caspar Henderson says that reading this book "brings all the joy of reliving one of your worst nightmares in painstaking and excruciating detail." We know, we are tired of the Trump books, too. But if you do feel the need to pick up one book about our most recent former president, this is the one that will go down in history, given the author's front-row seat to the action during the Trump era.

Get Acquainted with Presidents and Thinkers Alike with These Essential Leadership Listens

Presidents' Day is the perfect time to learn more about some of the political leaders who left their mark on America's history. This collection of bios and memoirs is a great place to start.

In the nearly 250-year history of the United States, there has been no shortage of political leaders from whom we can learn valuable lessons. From presidents and senators to influential thinkers, speakers, and activists, a diverse range of leaders, from all kinds of sociopolitical backgrounds and worlds of thought, have affected policy change and made a lasting impact on our nation.

Whether you’re looking for the perfect audiobook to celebrate Presidents' Day or just searching for an inspiring political take on how we got here and where we’ve yet to go, these titles are a great place to start. So, if you'd like to dive into some of the best listens about how to affect change and bring people together, look no further than this list of audio biographies and memoirs from presidents and political leaders.

Best Memoirs and Biographies of Presidents

A promised land.

Written and narrated by Barack Obama himself, this in-depth and engaging memoir covers the first term of the former president's historic presidency. Obama details his youth, with attention to when he first realized he wanted a career in politics, and takes listeners through his journey to the White House. He lets us in behind the scenes of some of the most pivotal decisions from his first term and ruminates on the powers and limitations of a president. The first volume in Obama's presidential memoirs, A Promised Land is an insightful and engrossing listen.

Promise Me, Dad

Written and narrated by Joe Biden himself, this personal and deeply moving memoir recounts the day he learned that his son Beau had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and follows the year in his life following that devastating news. Before he died, Beau asked his dad to promise him he'd be all right—and Biden swore he would. This is an emotional account of how personal and private tragedy shaped a leader’s life and purpose.

His Very Best

Noted journalist and historian Jonathan Alter sheds fascinating light on Jimmy Carter, an enigmatic man of deep faith and high principles, and his improbable journey to the White House and beyond. Raised in abject poverty in the Jim Crow South, Carter became an impassioned and surprisingly popular civic leader. After a difficult presidency, he rebounded, continuing his work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance human rights, and eradicate disease and homelessness, becoming a Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian. Michael Boatman narrates this nuanced portrait of our oldest living president, now 97, and one of the most underrated.

You Never Forget Your First

Alexis Coe turns the presidential biography on its head in You Never Forget Your First . This provocative account of George Washington takes a deep dive into his life before the Revolutionary War and examines how the American people—and history—have recast him as a benevolent founding father of our nation. Not one to flinch away from the less palatable aspects of GW's life, Coe offers a more balanced look at the first president, with plenty of humor and lots of heart. Performed by Brittany Pressley, this is a presidential biography made accessible (and entertaining!) for all.

Conversations with Joe

Get to know our now-president even better through hearing him speak candidly about overcoming adversity, finding renewed purpose after losing his son Beau to brain cancer, and moving forward with determination and hope. Taken from Joe Biden's 29-city American tour as Vice President of the United States, Conversations with Joe features highlights of his heart-to-heart talks with many influential thinkers and commentators, including George Saunders, Stephen Colbert, Constance Wu, Melinda Gates, Leslie Odom Jr., and Aaron Sorkin. A compelling listen, this Audible Original reinforces Biden's message of unity and promise in a way that's intimate and heartfelt.

The Lincoln Obsession

Abraham Lincoln is a much-beloved American president who continues to keep our attention not only for his role in trying to hold the nation together during the Civil War and his landmark Emancipation Proclamation but also because of his tragic assassination. In this Audible Original, renowned Lincoln scholar James L. Swanson shares the story of his lifelong obsession with the murder of our revered 16th President. In this gripping listen, which he also narrates, Swanson takes us behind the scenes of his research into Lincoln's final days and moments, as well as delves into lingering questions about John Wilkes Booth's motivation for this shattering crime—and his conspirators.

Presidents Are People Too!

In this Audible Original podcast, former Daily Show writer Elliott Kalan and historian Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First , take a more humorous and human look at the men who've led the country over the centuries. Beyond adding to the understanding of presidents we all know well for their triumphs and blunders, the hosts bring fully to life and poke fun at more obscure presidents—Franklin Pierce, Chester A. Arthur, and Gerald Ford among them. Kalan and Coe are often joined by guest experts such as Jon Stewart, Gail Collins, H.W. Brands, and Mary Roach, who add their own fascinating insights and unexpected twists.

Best Biographies and Memoirs of Political Leaders

Lead from the outside.

Written and narrated by Georgia governor hopeful, voting rights activist, serial entrepreneur, and best-selling author Stacey Abrams , Lead from the Outside is an inspiring and informative book about what it means to organize and inspire people to take action towards achieving great change. As a Black woman, Abrams knows firsthand what it's like to be kept from the table. Using her hard-won insights, she offers marginalized Americans something more valuable than hope: practical steps for building the skills to realize their ambitions and make a real difference.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is no stranger to the spotlight, having served in one of the most visibly public positions in our country—and making history as the first Black woman to do so. But in this memoir, she gets candid about her life experiences and the moments that have shaped her, as well as her time in the White House and the sense of purpose she finds in helping to create programs that strengthen the health of families. Obama narrates this audiobook herself with her usual candor and grace, making Becoming an absolute must-listen.

Madam Speaker

Although Nancy Pelosi didn't start running for office until she was 46, she's had a rich and fascinating career in politics, culminating in becoming the first female Speaker of the House. In this in-depth biography, noted journalist Susan Page draws on more than 150 exclusive interviews with those close to Pelosi and with Pelosi herself to paint a picture of her subject as a tireless fighter for civil rights, a master legislator, and a formidable foe. Narrated by the author, Madam Speaker reveals how all of Pelosi's skills were much-needed when former President Trump took office, just when she'd been planning to retire.

We're Better Than This

Representative Elijah Cummings served Maryland's 7th District faithfully, always calling on his fellow leaders to do better for the people they served. In We're Better Than This , Representative Cummings reflects on his years growing up in Baltimore as the son of sharecroppers who envisioned a better future for all and other early influences on his ideals. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne and Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, this memoir also pays tribute to a prominent voice in politics. Listeners will hear memories from those who worked with Cummings, including Presidents Obama and Clinton, as well as a heartfelt foreword written and read by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

This 1965 autobiography gets new life with a powerful Audible-exclusive performance from Laurence Fishburne. In it, Malcolm X tells of his experiences growing up, his work for civil rights and Black empowerment, and his conviction that the US is an inherently racist country built on the backs of people of color. This groundbreaking work remains just as compelling and relevant today as when it was first published following Malcolm X's assassination.

My Own Words

True to its title, My Own Words is a diverse collection of writings and speeches from the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Covering a span from 1993 to 2016, the selections reinforce the Justice's commitment to gender equality, as well as touch on topics from being Jewish to the value of looking beyond the US when interpreting our Constitution. Written in collaboration with Ginsburg's authorized biographers and narrated by actor Linda Lavin, this is an essential volume for anyone looking to better understand one of the most influential Supreme Court Justices of the 20th and 21st centuries. What's more, this listen features archival original recordings of Justice Ginsburg's speeches and bench announcements.

My Beloved World

In this memoir, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. the first Hispanic American and third woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, reflects on her journey from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench. As a girl, Sotomayor faced daunting adversities, from the early death of her alcoholic father to being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Yet, with only television characters for her professional role models, she was seized with the determination to become a lawyer. With the help of mentors, Sotomayor developed a belief in her own ability to defy the odds against her and achieve her dreams. Narrated by famed Puerto Rican actor Rita Moreno , this Audie Award finalist is a testament to self-invention and an affirmation of America as a land of possibilities.

His Truth Is Marching On

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham presents a detailed portrait of John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman. At age 25, Lewis marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. Propelled by his strident belief in nonviolent protests and faith in American democracy, he went on to become a US Representative, working for those who needed a voice the most, and a National Book Award winner. Narrated by JD Jackson, this audiobook features an afterword written and read by Lewis himself. His Truth Is Marching On provides essential insight into the life and legacy of a civil rights leader and political visionary.

The Best Memoirs to Make You Laugh, Cry, and Think

From raucously funny to downright heartbreaking, these outstanding memoirs pack a serious emotional punch.

The 21 Best Leadership Podcasts to Help You Lead with Confidence

These outstanding podcasts offer plenty of valuable nuggets for anyone looking to take the reins in their workplace, industry, community, or any arena.

The Best Philosophy Audiobooks for Getting Lost in Thought

Here are the best philosophy listens to help you ponder the big questions in life.

The Best Historical Biographies of Influential Figures and Events

From Ulysses S. Grant to Juneteenth, Sylvia Plath to James Baldwin, here are biographies that make you think again about famous historical events and trailblazers.

Self-Development
Celebrities
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Barron Trump

Barron Trump is the son of Donald Trump, the 45 th president of the United States, and former First Lady Melania Trump.

2006-present

Latest News: Barron Trump Selected as Florida Delegate

Barron won’t be the only Trump child to participate at the RNC. His older brothers, Eric and Donald Jr. , as well as his sister Tiffany will also serve as at-large delegates. Their father is aiming to return to the White House, having previously served in the office from 2017 to 2021. In March, Donald became the presumptive Republican nominee for president for a third straight general election cycle by earning a majority of delegates during the still ongoing primary season.

Prior to making his political debut, Barron is slated to graduate high school from the Oxbridge Academy on May 17. The former president recently received a judge’s permission to attend the ceremony amid his ongoing criminal trial in New York.

Quick Facts

Parents, half-siblings, and other family, living at the white house, high school and life after the white house, how tall is barron trump, who is barron trump.

Barron Trump is the only child of former First Lady Melania Trump and former President Donald Trump . While his dad was in office, from 2017 to 2021, Barron was the only one of the president’s five children to reside in the White House. Although Barron has occasionally appeared beside his father, he largely stayed out of the public eye in his youth.

FULL NAME: Barron William Trump BORN: March 20, 2006 BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York PARENTS: Donald Trump and Melania Trump SIBLINGS: Donald Jr. , Ivanka , Eric , and Tiffany ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces

Barron William Trump was born on March 20, 2006, in New York City. His parents are former President Donald Trump , who first gained fame as a real estate mogul, and former First Lady Melania Trump , who was previously a model.

As the youngest of the former president’s five children from his three marriages, Barron has four half-siblings: Don Jr ., Ivanka , Eric , and, Tiffany . However, he was effectively raised as an only child because he is between 13 and 29 years younger than his siblings. Although he and Tiffany could have shared part of their childhoods, she was raised in the Los Angeles area after her mother, Marla Maples , and Donald Sr. divorced in 1999.

Barron became an uncle while himself still a baby. He has four nieces: Kai Trump, who is just one year his junior; Arabella Kushner; Chloe Trump; and Carolina Trump. Barron additionally has six nephews: Donald Trump III, Tristan Trump, Spencer Trump, Joseph Kushner, Theodore Kushner, and Eric Trump.

Growing up, Barron learned to speak English and Slovene, the language of his mother’s home country, Slovenia. He is fluent in both tongues and also speaks French.

Barron was raised inside his father’s New York City high-rise Trump Tower, where he had an entire floor to himself. Accordingly, Barron has always known a life of luxury. In an interview with Parenting , Melania revealed Barron really liked planes and helicopters when he was little and that, as a hands-on mom, she cooked his breakfast and prepared his lunches. She also believed in encouraging his creativity—even when he would draw on the walls. “His imagination is growing and important,” she said. “If he draws on the walls in his playroom, we can paint it over.”

Although it’s unclear if he’ll follow his family into the real estate business, Barron did like to build cities and airports using Lego bricks and Magna Tiles growing up. He also has his own aesthetic. “He likes clean and white,” Melania told Parenting . “He builds big projects. He has a big imagination, and it’s very impressive. He loves to build something and tear it down and build something else. He is very detailed at drawing. We travel often, and he remembers everything he sees.”

Melania also told the magazine she calls Barron ‘Little Donald’ because his personality is so similar to that of his father. “He is a very strong-minded, very special, smart boy. He is independent and opinionated and knows exactly what he wants,” she said.

She also noted that Barron spent a lot quality time with his father, mostly at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, where they played golf, ate dinner together, and enjoyed family time.

Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency in 2016 brought a new level of exposure to the family, already well-known for Donald’s real estate holdings, reality TV series, and other business ventures. But Barron didn’t immediate follow his father to Washington D.C. after the inauguration. Instead, the boy stayed at Trump Tower with his mother for almost the first five months of his father’s presidency in order to finish his studies at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side. He and his mother moved into the White House on June 11, 2017, and Barron began attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal, a prep school in Maryland.

Barron became the first son of a president to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1963. Although he stayed out of the spotlight for the most part, he did turn up for some of the White House’s holiday-themed events in 2017, including the annual Easter Egg Roll in April, where he joined his parents in signing cards for members of the American Armed Forces. He also supported his father’s pardoning of the turkeys before Thanksgiving and, soon after, stepped out with his mom on the North Portico to receive the official Christmas tree from Wisconsin, which went up on display in the White House’s Blue Room.

barron trump stands to the side of his father who speaks into a microphone on a podium with a presidential seal, both wear suit jackets with white collared shirts and ties

On October 14, 2020, Melania confirmed that, like her and Donald, Barron tested positive for COVID-19. Although Barron initially tested negative, the first lady revealed that her “fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive.” Melania continued: “Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms. In one way, I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative.”

After leaving the White House in 2021, Barron moved with his mother and father to Mar-a-Lago. In August 2021, it was announced that Barron had enrolled in private school at the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of the class of 2024.

According to People , Barron hasn’t decided where he will attend college. However, a source said it is possible that his mother Melania “will follow him wherever he goes to school.”

Barron’s 18 th birthday in March 2024 led to debate about how the media should cover him now that he is a legal adult. However, Chelsea Clinton , the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton , has defended Barron, saying he has a right to privacy. “I think he’s a private citizen. I feel so strongly that if you are a private citizen, you have an unimpeachable right to privacy, and I think the media should leave him alone,” she said .

He plans to serve as an at-large delegate for the state of Florida at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

melania trump, barron trump, and donald trump stand on steps in front of an open set of doors, melania wears a dark skirt suit and sunglasses, barron and donald wear suits with ties and white collared shirts

Barron towers over both of his famous parents and, according to his father , stands at 6 feet, 7 inches tall.

Donald has attributed Barron’s impressive frame to all the food his late grandmother Amalija Knavs cooked for him. He has also remarked about Barron’s potential future in sports. “I said you’re gonna be a basketball player. He said, ‘Well, I like soccer, dad, actually,’” he said at a 2024 campaign event. “I thought... at your height, I like basketball better, but you can’t talk them into everything.”

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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The Fix’s list of best presidential biographies

Last week, we renewed our call out to Fix readers to help us identify the best presidential biographies for each of the nation's 43 presidents . Fix readers delivered, helping us compile a comprehensive list, with plenty of time left in the holiday shopping season!

* George Washington: Washington: A Life , by Ron Chernow; His Excellency: George Washington , by Joseph J. Ellis.

* John Adams: John Adams , by David McCullough; Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams , by Joseph J. Ellis.

* Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson and His Time , by Dumas Malone; American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson , by Joseph J. Ellis; Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power , by Jon Meacham.

* James Madison: James Madison: A Biography , by Ralph Ketchem.

* James Monroe: The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness , by Harlow Giles Unger.

* John Quincy Adams: John Quincy Adams (The American Presidents Series) , by Robert V. Remini.

* Andrew Jackson: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House , by Jon Meacham; The Life of Andrew Jackson , by Robert V. Remini.

* Martin Van Buren: Martin Van Buren (The American Presidents Series) , by Ted Widmer; Martin Van Buren : The Romantic Age of American Politics , by John Niven.

* William Henry Harrison: William Henry Harrison (The American Presidents Series) by Gail Collins; Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Times , by Freeman Cleaves.

* John Tyler: John Tyler (The American Presidents Series) , by Gary May; John Tyler: Champion of the Old South , by Oliver P. Chitwood.

* James K. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America , by Walter R. Borneman.

* Zachary Taylor: Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest , by K. Jack Bauer.

* Millard Fillmore: Millard Fillmo re: Biography of a President , by Robert J. Rayback

* Franklin Pierce: Franklin Pierce (The American Presidents Series) , by Michael Holt.

* James Buchanan: President James Buchanan: A Biography , by Philip S. Klein.

* Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln , by David Herbert Donald; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln , by Doris Kearns Goodwin; With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln , by Stephen B. Oates; Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years , by Carl Sandburg; Abraham Lincoln , by Lord Charnwood.

* Andrew Johnson: Andrew Johnson (The American Presidents Series) , by Annette Gordon-Reed.

* Ulysses S. Grant: Grant , by Jean Edward Smith; Grant: A Biography , by William S. McFeeley.

* Rutherford B. Hayes: Rutherford B. Hayes , by Hans Trefousse (The American Presidents Series); Rutherford B. Hayes, and his America , by Harry Barnard.

* James Garfield: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President , by Candice Millard.

*Chester Arthur: Chester Alan Arthur (The American Presidents Series) , by Zachary Karabell; Gentleman Boss: The Life of Chester Alan Arthur , by Thomas C. Reeves.

* Grover Cleveland (the 22nd and 24th president): Grover Cleveland: A Study in Character , by Alyn Brodsky; Grover Cleveland (The American Presidents Series) , by Henry F. Graff.

* Benjamin Harrison: Benjamin Harrison (The American Presidents Series) , by Charles W. Calhoun; Benjamin Harrison: Hoosier statesman , by Harry Joseph Sievers.

* William McKinley: Presidency of William McKinley , by Lewis. L. Gould.

* Theodore Roosevelt: Edmund Morris's Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy ; Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt , by David McCullough.

* William Howard Taft: The Life & Times of William Howard Taft , by Harry F. Pringle.

* Woodrow Wilson: Woodrow Wilson: A Biography , by John Milton Cooper Jr.

* Warren G. Harding: The Shadow of Blooming Grove: Warren G. Harding in His Times , by Francis Russell; Warren G. Harding (The American Presidents Series) , by John W. Dean.

* Calvin Coolidge: Coolidge, An American Enigma , by Robert Sobel.

* Herbert Hoover: Herbert Hoover (The American Presidents Series) , by William E. Leuchtenburg.

*Franklin Roosevelt: Franklin D. Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom , by Conrad Black; No Ordinary Time , by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

*Harry S. Truman: Truman , by David McCullough; Harry S. Truman (The American Presidents Series) , by Robert Dallek.

*Dwight D. Eisenhower: Eisenhower: Soldier and President , by Stephen E. Ambrose; Eisenhower in War and Peace , by Jean Edward Smith.

*John F. Kennedy: A Thousand Days , by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; An Unfinished Life , by Robert Dallek.

*Lyndon B. Johnson: Robert Caro 's multi-volume set; Robert Dallek 's two-volume set.

*Richard Nixon: The three-volume set by Steven Ambrose; Nixonland , by Richard Perlstein.

*Gerald Ford: Gerald R. Ford (The American Presidents Series) by Douglas Brinkley.

*Jimmy Carter: Jimmy Carter, by Julian E. Zelizer (The American Presidents Series).

*Ronald Reagan: President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime , by Lou Cannon; My Father at 100 , by Ron Reagan, Jr.

*George H.W. Bush: George H.W. Bush (The American Presidents Series) , by Timothy Naftali.

*Bill Clinton: First in His Class , by David Maraniss; The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House , by John F. Harris.

*George W. Bush: Decision Points (Bush's memoir) ; Peter Baker's forthcoming Bush book.

*Barack Obama: Barack Obama: The Story , by David Maraniss; The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama , by David Remnick.

This post has been updated.

'Puts Trump at the table': Ex-prosecutor offers 'best case scenario' for final key witness

F ormer Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is expected to face cross-examination Monday, which will mark week four of the ex-president's first criminal trial.

The MAGA hopeful's former fixer — who is at the center of Trump's New York hush money scheme — is likely the final key witness to testify before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution team.

On Sunday morning, CNN's Danny Freeman asked former prosecutor and legal analyst Joey Jackson, "If everything goes right for the prosecution, what is the best-case scenario for Michael Cohen's testimony?"

READ MORE: 'We knew what he wanted': Trump’s pattern of micromanaging could be his downfall in NY trial

Jackson replied, "I think everyone's waiting for the cross-examination of Michael Cohen. I think that we certainly know what he's going to say. To date, all the witnesses that the prosecution had are around this issue of conspiracy and cover up. That's their theory, and Michael Cohen will bring it home. If all goes right, that theory — that there was a conspiracy and cover up with respect to what? With respect to this whole 'catch and kill' scheme, not in and of itself illegal, but with regard to sealing it and covering it up — by invoices that were phony, by other types of business records like ledgers, like checks that were meant to reimburse, not for purposes of retainer fees or anything legally, services that were provided — but as a bonus, and, of course, as repayment for Michael Cohen's covering this up to boost election prospects of Donald Trump."

The CNN legal analyst added, "If everyone else puts Donald Trump in the room, certainly Michael Cohen puts Donald Trump at the table. Because he could speak to the issues of how this all came about, what the grand scheme was all about, how Allen Weisselberg — who's serving time in prison — who was the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization which was involved — who's not testifying by the way. So that is going to be the prosecution's wish, that he just brings it home — he as in Michael Cohen — to establish this conspiracy, its cover up, and to otherwise establish Trump's guilt. That's the best-case scenario. But again, Danny, everyone's waiting for the cross examination of Michael Cohen."

Freeman commented, "The main problem that Michael Cohen faces is this big question of credibility. He's been convicted of perjury, which he says he did for the former president. But especially after seeing the cross-examination of Stormy Daniels last week, does the defense need to beat up Michael Cohen on this credibility issue, or just leave it at, 'you can't trust anything this guy says,' and walk away?"

Jackson replied, "So I think there's a couple of imperatives: There's what the right thing to do legally to establish your case from a defense perspective, and then there's what their boss Donald Trump wants to see. You mentioned Stormy Daniels. What was the essence of the cross-examination on the second day of Stormy Daniels? You got everything out the first day that you want to argue when you're closing — that she hates the president, that she couldn't be trusted, and she knows nothing about the records. But Trump says, 'Get in there, humiliate her.'"

READ MORE: 'Deeply troubling': Trump campaign accused of concealing settlement payouts to multiple women

He continued, "And I think that in answer to your question is, what we're going to see as it relates to Michael Cohen — Trump wants him to be really annihilated. And so we're going to hear about, 'You're a perjurer, is that right, sir?' Nothing that comes out of your mouth, we can trust. And in fact, you've made a living off of savaging the president. You were wearing a shirt that had him in jail, right? That was on your podcast.' We're going to hear all about that."

The former prosecutor emphasized, "The issue with me, Danny, is whether that matters. Why do I say that? Because so many of the other witnesses already said what Michael Cohen is going to say. As I noted, the other witnesses, in tandem, have Trump involved in this whole entire deal to really conceal and cover up, et cetera, they just, again, put them in the room. They just don't put them at the table. And that's what Michael Cohen's going to do, by saying, 'We have these face-to-face meetings. There was this Oval Office meeting where we talked about the whole reimbursement, that's where we said how we would do the deal, so that no one would know, but guess what? Everyone found out.' And the issue now is going to be what, if any, involvement Trump had, I think other witnesses would otherwise suggest he had a lot of involvement. But Michael Cohen will tell everybody about the specific nature of that involvement, and that's the open question."

READ MORE: 'Juicy set of' bank documents shed major light on Trump hush money trial: FOIA release

Watch the video below or at this link .

'Puts Trump at the table': Ex-prosecutor offers 'best case scenario' for final key witness www.youtube.com

・ 'He’d be a horrible witness': Cohen says Trump taking stand in trial would be 'perjury trap'

・ Legal expert: Why Trump’s first criminal trial is 'bigger than Michael Cohen alone'

・ Michael Cohen warns of bombshell evidence during Trump trial: report

Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court on April 26, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Who will Donald Trump choose as his running mate? What to know as potential VPs gather in Florida.

WASHINGTON − Former President Donald Trump will spend part of his weekend hosting the latest episode of " The Apprentice," but this time it's the vice presidential edition .

At least six contenders for the former president's running mate – Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum – will attend a Republican donor retreat Friday and Saturday in Palm Beach, Florida, in what looks like a series of auditions.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Republican leaders and supporters to come together," says the invitation to the event, which also will include panel discussions featuring campaign officials and Republican lawmakers that are closed to the media.

But in Palm Beach, most eyes will be on the vice presidential candidates who have been trying out for months at campaign rallies, primary parties, meetings and television interviews to join Trump on the GOP ticket that in 2016 and 2020 included Mike Pence.

Trump, who liked to keep contestants guessing when he hosted " The Apprentice" reality show, has been throwing out mixed signals about his running mate in recent months.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

"Anyone claiming to know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying, unless the person is named Donald J. Trump," senior campaign adviser Brian Hughes told USA TODAY in a statement.

Here's what you need to know about Trump's potential VP picks:

Sen. Tim Scott

If Trump seeks a historic pick, he could make Scott the Republicans' first Black vice presidential candidate.

Scott, who once competed against Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, ultimately hit the campaign trail for his former rival in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.

On the other hand: Trump has suggested he doesn't want an heir apparent running mate who has designs on the 2028 presidential election, and Scott could fall into that category if he decides to launch another White House bid.

That's the reason prominent figures like former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson keep popping up. Carson is not expected to launch another White House campaign – and he's not scheduled to attend the donor retreat this weekend.

Sen. J.D. Vance

Vance, a first-term senator , has been particularly vocal about defending Trump against his indictments in four separate criminal cases, including the ongoing hush money trial in New York.

A frequent television news guest, Vance's stock rose this week after reporters obtained an invitation showing that he would headline a fundraiser for the former president in Cincinnati on May 15. Vance is also friends with a key figure in Trump's orbit: Donald Trump Jr.

Vance told Fox News and CNN this week that he has not talked with Trump about the running mate position.

"Of course, if he asked me, I'd have to think seriously about it because I think it's really important that he win," Vance told "Fox News Sunday."

Rep. Elise Stefanik

Trump could also make history by picking a woman, and Stefanik has been on his potential list for months .

A member of House leadership, Stefanik endorsed Trump early, campaigned aggressively for him in New Hampshire and often speaks to conservative groups like the RNC donor conference this weekend in Palm Beach.

Stefanik has also been a vocal critic of Trump's criminal cases, to the point of filing a legal complaint against special counsel Jack Smith . He is the lead prosecutor in the cases alleging Trump mishandled classified information and tried to steal the 2020 election.

Sen. Marco Rubio

Rubio, a senator from the state where the GOP donor conference is being held, would also make history as the first Latino person on a national ticket.

A Trump-Rubio duo could raise a legal problem because they both live in Florida. Some attorneys believe running mates from the same state might be forced to forfeit that state's electoral votes. That's why running mate Dick Cheney moved residency from Texas back to Wyoming when former President George W. Bush tapped him in 2000.

The Florida problem might also affect the chances of another GOP lawmaker and potential running mate who plans to attend the donor retreat: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla .

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

There are always long-shot candidates – for example, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008 – and Burgum is one of the speakers at the weekend soiree.

Trump could consider the fact that the North Dakota governor endorsed and spoke on his behalf at an event the day before the Iowa caucuses. Burgum has been more enthusiastic for Trump than other former 2024 candidates who are not being considered for running mate, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley .

Another politician not on Trump's list: former Vice President Mike Pence .

Pence turned against Trump over the latter's demand in 2021 that his vice president try to throw out the electoral votes that elected Biden to the presidency, a step Pence insisted he never legally could have taken. Trump has also appeared indifferent after mobs threatened Pence's life as they invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 .

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

Noem will appear at this weekend's conference at a fraught time for her vice presidential prospects after a story in her new book revealed she shot the family dog because it kept attacking people and livestock.

The story prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. Donald Trump Jr., on his podcast "Triggered," called the revelation "not ideal."

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Noem, who described the dog as dangerous, said: "It's an unfortunate situation, but one that I hope people understand. ... They need to hear the truth and not what the media has been spinning."

Plenty of advice for Trump

As he assesses his options, Trump is getting plenty of advice from associates, lawmakers and donors about whom he should pick.

Some of the potential choices are not scheduled to be in Palm Beach this weekend, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders (a former Trump press secretary), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard .

On his radio show, Donald Trump Jr. told former Trump adviser Steve Bannon that his father should "accelerate" the running mate decision, especially given the fact that Trump is tied up in court.

'You’ve got a deep bench to do it," Bannon replied. "You’ve got great people, J.D. Vance, Gov. Burgum of North Dakota. You know, you’ve got Dr. Carson, others.”

Others said there's no telling when Trump will make his decision.

Newt Gingrich, whom Trump considered for running mate in 2016, said the former president will act when he's ready.

"I’m relaxing and watching to see what (Trump) does; he will only do it out of intuition," Gingrich told USA TODAY. "I suspect that he’s looking at (Marco) Rubio, he’s looking at Scott, Tim Scott, and I think he’s probably looking at a couple of women candidates, but I think he’s going to think it through at his own pace. I think he’s in no hurry.”

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What's the best state for you », ap decision notes: what to expect in maryland's presidential and state primaries.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump look to pad their delegate totals in Maryland as the presidential primary campaign enters its final weeks

AP Decision Notes: What to Expect in Maryland's Presidential and State Primaries

Robert Yoon

Signs are pictured outside an early voting center on Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Rockville, Md. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump look to pad their delegate totals in Maryland Tuesday, May 14. Maryland voters will also decide contested primaries in a Senate race that has further complicated Democratic efforts to keep control of the narrowly divided chamber this fall. (AP Photo/Robert Yoon)

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump look to add to their string of victories and pad their delegate totals in Maryland on Tuesday as the presidential primary campaign enters its final weeks. Voters will also decide contested primaries in a U.S. Senate race that has further complicated Democratic efforts to keep control of the narrowly divided chamber this fall.

Maryland’s presidential primaries won’t have much of an impact on the races for the Democratic and Republican nominations, as both Biden and Trump have already been crowned as their parties’ presumptive nominees . But the Maryland ballots feature options that have proved to be stubborn irritations to both campaigns in recent contests – for Biden, it’s “ uncommitted ” and for Trump, it’s former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

In the Pennsylvania primary in April, for instance, the Democratic primary saw a surge in write-in votes after activists urged voters to write “uncommitted” on the ballot in lieu of voting for Biden. In the Republican contest, Haley received about 17% of the vote , despite having dropped out of the race in early March. Haley got almost 22% of the vote in Indiana's presidential primary on May 7.

In the U.S. Senate primaries to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin , former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan’s late entry into the race has given Republicans hope of a possible pick-up in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican U.S. Senator since 1980. As a two-term governor, Hogan is the best-known and most formidable of the seven candidates vying for the GOP nomination.

The Democratic primary features 10 candidates, most notably U.S. Rep. David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks . Trone, who has loaned his campaign $54 million, has far outspent Alsobrooks, who had spent about $5.9 million by late April. But Alsobrooks has the support of much of the state’s Democratic establishment, including Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and five of the state’s six U.S. representatives whose endorsements were up for grabs. She also recently won the endorsement of The Washington Post.

Three open U.S. House seats have drawn unusually large primary fields. Six Democrats and three Republicans are running to replace retiring 11-term Democratic incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger in the 2nd District north of Baltimore City.

In the neighboring 3rd District, which includes Howard and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties, 22 candidates are running in the Democratic primary, including two state senators, three state delegates and retired police officer Harry Dunn , who defended the U.S. Capitol against rioters on Jan. 6., 2021.

Sixteen Democrats and seven Republicans will appear on the ballots in the 6th Congressional District seat Trone is giving up to run for the Senate.

In Baltimore City, first-term Mayor Brandon Scott faces a dozen Democratic primary challengers, including a rematch with former Mayor Sheila Dixon , his chief 2020 primary opponent who resigned the office in 2010 following a corruption scandal.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

PRIMARY DAY

Maryland’s presidential and state primaries will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT

The Associated Press will report vote results for the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries, as well as for contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and Baltimore mayor. The options in the Democratic presidential primary are Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson and “Uncommitted to any presidential candidate.” In the Republican primary, the options are Trump and Haley.

WHO GETS TO VOTE

Maryland has a closed primary system, which means that only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats may not vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may not participate in either primary.

DELEGATE ALLOCATION RULES

Maryland’s 95 pledged Democratic delegates are allocated according to the national party’s standard rules. Twenty-one at-large delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide vote, as are 11 PLEO delegates, or “party leaders and elected officials.”

The state’s eight congressional districts have a combined 63 delegates at stake, which are allocated in proportion to the vote results in each district. Candidates must receive at least 15% of the statewide vote to qualify for any statewide delegates, and 15% of the vote in a congressional district to qualify for delegates in that district.

In the Republican presidential primary, all 37 delegates at stake will be awarded to the winner of the statewide vote.

DECISION NOTES

In the presidential race, Biden and Trump are the favorites in their primaries as neither candidate faces credible challenges. The first indications that they are winning statewide on a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held this year may be sufficient to determine the statewide winners.

The jurisdictions to watch for signs of protest votes against either Biden or Trump are probably the state’s most Democratic-leaning areas of Baltimore City and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in the Washington suburbs.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, the key areas to watch will be the state’s Democratic strongholds. In order to win, Trone and Alsobrooks would each need to run up the score in their respective vote-rich home counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s.

Trone is also expected to perform well in more conservative Western Maryland, which he represents in Congress. That leaves Baltimore City and the surrounding counties of Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel in a position to be decisive.

In the Republican primary, Hogan is well known across the state, but his vocal criticism of Trump could alienate the former president’s supporters in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

In his successful 2014 primary, Hogan won the state’s population centers of Montgomery, Prince George’s, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard and Frederick counties, as well as Baltimore City. He lost much of Western and Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Winning in these more conservative areas on Tuesday would probably be a sign of a decisive statewide primary win for Hogan.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

There are no automatic recounts in Maryland, but a candidate may request one for free if the vote margin is 0.25% of the total vote or less. Candidates may also pay for a recount in cases where the vote margin is 5% of the total vote or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?

As of March 31, there were nearly 4.5 million registered voters in Maryland. Of the 4.2 million active registered voters, about 53% were Democrats and 24% were Republicans.

In the 2022 primaries, turnout was about 16% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and about 7% in the Republican primary. About 57% of Democratic primary ballots and 36% of Republican primary ballots were cast before Election Day.

As of Wednesday, a total of 372,761 ballots had been cast before the primary, about 71% in the Democratic primary and about 26% in the Republican primary. In-person early voting concluded on Thursday.

HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results at 8:42 p.m. ET, or 42 minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 4:15 a.m. ET with about 56% of total votes counted.

ARE WE THERE YET?

As of Tuesday, there will be 62 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, 97 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and 175 days until the November general election.

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A child rests her head on the lap of her mother as she gets her hair done, at a school turned into a makeshift shelter for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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Breaking news, obama-appointed judge lays into wi law firm after election lawsuit: ‘it makes no sense’.

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A federal judge ripped into a top Democratic law firm that was attempting to challenge an absentee ballot witness requirement in Wisconsin.

“Normally, the court would begin by searching for other textual clues in the statute. But in this case, the most obvious problem with plaintiffs’ interpretation is that it simply does not make any sense,” U.S. District Judge James Peterson said in a ruling against the Elias Law Group, the firm founded by Democratic super lawyer and former Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias, which was attempting to challenge the Wisconsin law.

At the heart of the issue is Wisconsin’s state statute under § 6.87(2), which lays out absentee voting requirements in the state.

The Wisconsin law requires voters to both certify that they meet the requirements to vote and that they have followed the correct process for filling out an absentee ballot, which includes a section that requires “witness certification.”

Elias said the witness requirement violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguing that a witness would be forced to verify the eligibility of the voter filling out the ballot.

“Under plaintiffs’ interpretation, every witness would have to determine the voter’s age, residence, citizenship, criminal history, whether the voter is unable or unwilling to vote in person, whether the voter has voted at another location or is planning to do so, whether the voter is capable of understanding the objective of the voting process, whether the voter is under a guardianship, and, if so, whether a court has determined that the voter is competent,” Peterson, an Obama appointee, wrote.

“Many witnesses would be unable to independently verify much of the required information,” Peterson continued. “The statute allows any adult U.S. citizen to serve as a witness, suggesting that a wide variety of people should be able to do the job… It makes no sense to interpret § 6.87 in a way that would make compliance virtually impossible.”

The decision follows the top firm’s failure in another Wisconsin case, which saw Elias attempt to force the state to redraw its congressional maps. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court opted not to hear the case, a victory for Republicans in the state.

Jonathan Turley, Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, noted that Elias himself has been at the center of several controversies and courtroom losses in recent memory.

“Elias has been sanctioned in past litigation. Yet, other Democrats have continued to hire Elias despite his checkered past,” Turley wrote Saturday. “Elias unsuccessfully led efforts to challenge Democratic losses. Elias also was the subject of intense criticism after a tweet that some have called inherently racist.”

The Elias Law Group did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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Stormy Daniels tells court she ‘hates’ Trump and wants him ‘held accountable’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest report and key takeaways below:

Stormy Daniels describes being ‘startled’ by sexual encounter
Satin pajamas and mistrial denied: key takeaways, day 13
6d ago Closing summary
6d ago Judge indefinitely postpones Trump's classified documents trial date
6d ago Trump says today was a 'very revealing day'
6d ago Court adjourned for the day
6d ago Daniels asked about tweet calling Trump an 'orange turd'
6d ago 'I want him to be held accountable': Daniels says she 'hates' Trump
6d ago Defense begins cross-examination of Daniels
6d ago Daniels testifies her life became 'chaos' after Wall Street Journal hush-money story
6d ago Stormy Daniels back on the stand
6d ago Judge denies defense motion for a mistrial
6d ago Trump attorney moves for mistrial based on Daniels' testimony
6d ago Daniels testifies she 'didn't care' about $130,000 hush-money amount
6d ago Daniels describes meeting with Trump at Trump Tower
6d ago Judge warns prosecutors to keep Daniels' questioning relevant to the case
6d ago Stormy Daniels says Trump did not ask her to keep their sexual encounter a secret
6d ago Daniels says Trump told her 'let’s get together again, honeybunch' after sexual encounter
6d ago 'I blacked out': Daniels describes 'brief' sexual encounter with Trump
6d ago 'Like a jump scare': Daniels testifies she was 'startled' to see Trump in boxer shorts in bed
6d ago Daniels testifies Trump told her she reminded him of his daughter Ivanka
6d ago Daniels testifies Trump said he and Melania 'don't sleep in the same room'
6d ago Daniels testifies about meeting Trump at celebrity golf tournament
6d ago Daniels identifies Trump in courtroom
6d ago Daniels testifies about her personal biography as prosecutors paint sympathetic portrait
6d ago Stormy Daniels called to the stand
6d ago First witness called
6d ago Judge allows prosecutors to call Stormy Daniels as witness
6d ago Trump attorney asks judge to prohibit Stormy Daniels from testifying about alleged 'sexual act'
6d ago Stormy Daniels ‘likely’ called as witness today, her lawyer tells AP
6d ago Three key takeaways from Monday
6d ago Trump complains about length of trial: 'I thought they would be finished today'
6d ago Case to resume after judge fines Trump and threatens jail time for gag order violations

Stormy Daniels in Berlin on 11 October 2018. Donald Trump in court in New York on 7 May 2024.

'I want him to be held accountable': Daniels says she 'hates' Trump

Then came Trump attorney Susan Necheles’ questions on Stormy Daniels’ view on Trump.

“Am I correct in that you hate President Trump?” Yes.

“And you want him to go to jail?”

I want him to be held accountable.

“Part of the reason you hate him is because he won a legal case against you, and you owe him today, over half a million dollars, right?” Necheles said.

“He didn’t win the case – he won attorneys fees.

“So you agree with me, he won the case and he was awarded over half a million dollars in legal fees?” Correct.

Closing summary

Donald Trump ’s criminal trial entered a new stage on Tuesday with testimony from Stormy Daniels, the adult film star at the center of his hush-money scandal. Daniels testified for nearly four hours today, and is expected to return to the stand on Thursday.

Here’s a recap of what happened today:

Daniels testified that she and Trump had a sexual liaison in 2006 that left her nervous and ashamed. Prosecutors allege that in 2015, Trump, his then lawyer Michael Cohen and tabloid honcho David Pecker plotted to bury stories that could thwart his Republican presidential bid. Cohen allegedly shuttled a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, to keep her from going public about her claimed sexual liaison with Trump.

Daniels said she had met Trump at a celebrity golf match in Lake Tahoe, and that she had gone to his hotel room under the belief that they would be getting dinner after meeting there. Per instructions from Trump’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller, she arrived at his penthouse to find Trump wearing “silk or satin pyjamas” and she asked him to change.

Daniels said Trump repeatedly grilled Daniels on her time in the adult industry, including: “What about testing? Do you worry about STDs?” He asked whether she had been tested. She later testified that Trump did not use a condom during their sexual encounter.

Daniels said there was a brief discussion of Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, during which he said they slept in separate rooms. She also said he compared her to his daughter, Ivanka Trump: “You remind me of my daughter. She is smart and blonde and beautiful and people underestimate her as well.” She said that during their conversation, Trump dangled the idea of putting her on his TV show The Apprentice.

Daniels said she used the restroom and when she exited, she saw Trump on the bed in his boxers and a T-shirt. “I just thought: oh my God, what did I misread to get here?” She said, comparing it to a “jump scare”. “The intention is pretty clear if someone’s stripped down to their underwear and on the bed.” She said it suddenly felt like the room was spinning, like blood was draining from her hands and feet.

Daniels said that she tried to make a joke and leave, but Trump stood up between her and the door. She testified that Trump told her “I thought you were serious about what you wanted, if you want to get out of that trailer park.”

Daniels said she “blacked out” during her “brief” sexual encounter with Trump. “ I was not drunk I was not drugged … I just don’t remember,” she told the jury. She said she “was staring up at the ceiling and didn’t know how I got there”. She testified that she remembered her hands were “shaking so hard that I was having a hard time getting dressed” afterwards, and that Trump told her: “Let’s get together again, honey bunch!”

After a lunch break, Trump’s team demanded a mistrial over what they said were prejudicial and irrelevant comments. “There’s no way to unring that bell, in our view,” defense lawyer Todd Blanche said. “Aside from pure embarrassment,” Blanche told Merchan, these details did nothing but “inflame the jury”. The judge rejected the request and said defense lawyers should have raised more objections during the testimony.

Daniels said that in 2011, a man approached her at a Las Vegas car park and threatened her against coming forward . Her former attorney, Michael Avenatti , publicized a sketch of the man, and then filed a defamation suit after Trump denied involvement. Daniels said she thought a defamation claim was “risky” and “not worth it”, but that Avenatti filed it without her permission. The case was thrown out, in Trump’s favor.

Under cross examination, Daniels acknowledged that she “hates” Trump. “ I want him to be held accountable,” she told the jury. Daniels also admitted she has chosen not to pay about $560,000 in legal fees that she owes to Trump after she filed and lost a defamation suit against him.

The jury heard from another witness in the morning: Sally Franklin , an executive at Penguin Random House. The prosecution asked her to read excerpts from Trump’s books including Trump: How to Get Rich and Trump: Think Like a Billionaire.

Judge indefinitely postpones Trump's classified documents trial date

The US district judge Aileen Cannon has indefinitely postponed Donald Trump ’s trial date in Florida in the case where the former president is charged with retaining national security documents.

From Politico’s Kyle Cheney:

BREAKING: Judge CANNON has indefinitely postponed Donald Trump's trial date in Florida. It may be months before we know the new schedule. https://t.co/SScVNc0KAD pic.twitter.com/xnmlCjK92X — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 7, 2024

Trump says today was a 'very revealing day'

Donald Trump, speaking to the media after court adjourned for the day, described today’s court proceedings as a “very big day”.

Trump, standing next to his attorney Todd Blanche, said:

So this was a very big day, a very revealing day as you see their case is totally falling apart. They have nothing on books and records and even something that should bear very little relationship to the case. It’s just a disaster for the DA, the Soros-backed disaster. This whole case is a disaster.

Court adjourned for the day

Stormy Daniels has left the stand for the day and walked out of the room. Trump attorney Susan Necheles’ cross of Daniels will resume on Thursday.

Trump has left the courtroom.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles is asking about the alleged 2011 threat to keep quiet about the former president , once again to insist that it didn’t actually happen.

So you decided in 2016, well, I’m going to sell my story, you weren’t afraid?

Stormy Daniels told Necheles that she was “very different” and more brave, in 2016 than in 2011.

Necheles pressed on with her suggestion that Daniels was trying to shake down Trump.

You were looking to extort money from President Trump, right?

“False”, Daniels said. “Well, that’s what you did, right?” “False!”

Donald Trump has returned to court following a brief break. His son, Eric, has sat back down in the front row, once again alongside Alina Habba .

Stormy Daniels has returned to the stand.

During the break, Trump was asked how today’s proceedings were going. “Very well”, he replied, per pool.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles is grilling Stormy Daniels on why she didn’t come forward with the sex claim for 10 years.

Daniels shot back that she told multiple people – including friends – and had effectively told the story during a radio show interview around 2007.

Necheles asked if she thought that Michael Cohen had sent a man to threaten Daniels in 2011; Daniels previously believed that Cohen was responsible for the threat.

Daniels earlier told the jury about being approached by a man in the parking lot of a shopping center in Las Vegas in June 2011 who she said “threatened me not to continue to tell my story”.

The prosecution asked: “But now you and Michael Cohen are buddies, right?” Daniels replied:

I wouldn’t say buddies.

But you’ve been on his podcast a couple of times? “For him to apologize.”

Trump attorney Susan Necheles is asking Stormy Daniels about whether she considered getting high-profile women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred to represent her in 2011.

You told Gloria Allred that you did not have sex with President Trump, didn’t you?

Daniels denied this. “I told her I did.”

Necheles’ line of questioning stems from Daniels’ book, Full Disclosure, where she describes speaking with Allred on the phone – but not telling her about sex with Trump. Daniels said:

I did not tell her all these sex details, I did not trust her.

“You’re making this up as you sit there, right?” Necheles pressed. “No.”

Trump attorney Susan Necheles returns to money.

You’ve been making money by claiming to have had sex with Donald J Trump, for more than a decade?

“I’ve been making money telling my story [about] what happened,” replied an increasingly irked Daniels.

“It has made you a lot of money?” Daniels shot back:

It has also cost me a lot of money.

Daniels asked about tweet calling Trump an 'orange turd'

On cross, Trump attorney Susan Necheles is doggedly trying to convey that Stormy Daniels’ presence in court is a financially motivated personal vendetta.

Not only does Daniels hate Donald Trump , but she doesn’t want to pay him money owed to him.

Necheles also pointed to one of Daniels’ tweets, where she compares him to an orange excrement.

I don't owe him shit and I'll never give that orange turd a dime 😂 — Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) November 10, 2022

Why did she make fun of his appearance, Necheles asked?

Because he made fun of me first.

So, Necheles asked, one of you started it, but both continued the feud?

“The prosecutors began their direct testimony today by asking you why you started acting in pornography, right?” Trump attorney Susan Necheles said.

“They asked me why? I don’t think they asked me why,” answered Stormy Daniels, who seemed irked.

Necheles asked about why she got into the industry, asking:

It’s that simple: “You want[ed] more money?

Daniels said:

Don’t we all want more money in our jobs?

Necheles grilled Daniels on whether money was her main motive with things.

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