Each President's Favorite President?

[RINO Tom]

I was wondering if we could get a list going of each President's favorite President.  Some might have more than one or no attributable quotes to even identify one, but I scrounged this together from a few different sources:

Donald Trump: Andrew Jackson (?)
Barack Obama: Abraham Lincoln (?)
George W. Bush:
Bill Clinton: John F. Kennedy (?)
George H.W. Bush:
Ronald Reagan: Calvin Coolidge
Jimmy Carter: Harry Truman
Gerald Ford:
Richard Nixon: Abraham Lincoln
Lyndon B. Johnson: Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy: Franklin D. Roosevelt (?)
Dwight D. Eisenhower: George Washington
Harry Truman: Andrew Jackson
Franklin D. Roosevelt:
Herbert Hoover:
Calvin Coolidge:
Warren G. Harding:
Woodrow Wilson:
William Howard Taft:
Teddy Roosevelt: Abraham Lincoln
William McKinley:
Grover Cleveland:
Benjamin Harrison:
Chester A. Arthur:
James A. Garfield:
Ulysses S. Grant:
Andrew Johnson:
Abraham Lincoln: George Washington
James Buchanan: George Washington
Franklin Pierce:
Millard Fillmore:
Zachary Taylor:
James K. Polk:
John Tyler:
William Henry Harrison:
Martin Van Buren: Andrew Jackson (?)
Andrew Jackson: Thomas Jefferson (?)
John Quincy Adams: John Adams (?)
James Monroe: James Madison or Thomas Jefferson (?)
James Madison: Thomas Jefferson (?)
Thomas Jefferson: George Washington (almost by default)
John Adams: George Washington (by default)
George Washington: N/A

I couldn't find much else, surprisingly.  I would love to hear additional information from those who are more informed, though!

[Badger]

The obvious answer for Trump is himself.

[SWE]

The obvious answer for Trump is himself.

For all of them? That seems unlikely

[Del Tachi]

Clinton - probably JFK?

[brucejoel99]

Donald Trump: Most likely Donald Trump; of others, Andrew Jackson, but he's also said Ronald Reagan & Bill Clinton
Barack Obama: Teddy Roosevelt &/or Abraham Lincoln
George W. Bush: Teddy Roosevelt; later on, probably his dad.
Bill Clinton: Abraham Lincoln
George H.W. Bush: Teddy Roosevelt; later on, probably his son.
Ronald Reagan: Calvin Coolidge
Jimmy Carter: Harry Truman
Gerald Ford: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Richard Nixon: Woodrow Wilson &/or Abraham Lincoln
Lyndon B. Johnson: Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy: John Quincy Adams &/or Thomas Jefferson
Dwight D. Eisenhower: George Washington
Harry Truman: Andrew Jackson
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Andrew Jackson
Herbert Hoover: ?
Calvin Coolidge: ?
Warren G. Harding: ?
Woodrow Wilson: ?
William Howard Taft: ?
Teddy Roosevelt: Abraham Lincoln
William McKinley: ?
Grover Cleveland: ?
Benjamin Harrison: ?
Grover Cleveland: ?
Chester A. Arthur: ?
James A. Garfield: ?
Rutherford B. Hayes: Abraham Lincoln
Ulysses S. Grant: ?
Andrew Johnson: ?
Abraham Lincoln: George Washington
James Buchanan: ?
Franklin Pierce: ?
Millard Fillmore: ?
Zachary Taylor: ?
James K. Polk: ?
John Tyler: ?
William Henry Harrison: ?
Martin Van Buren: ?
Andrew Jackson: Presumably Jefferson
John Quincy Adams: Presumably his dad
James Monroe: Presumably Jefferson
James Madison: Presumably Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson: Presumably himself; otherwise, Washington by default
John Adams: Washington by default; later on, presumably his son
George Washington: N/A

[Alben Barkley]

Trump has said it's Andrew Jackson, but "himself" is of course the real answer.

I'm guessing Lincoln was the favorite president of Obama. The two had quite a bit in common, not only in terms of being from Illinois but also in terms of their intellectual yet charismatic/witty personalities and manners of speech.

The obvious choice for W is his father, but he expressed a lot of admiration for Lincoln and Reagan as well.

I believe Clinton has actually said FDR was his favorite president, though of course he admired JFK as well (and famously met him as a teenager).

HW's favorite was probably... Eisenhower? Not sure honestly. He was Reagan's VP but the two were never that close, and he worked for Nixon but I doubt he would have said he was his favorite. Probably Ike or Teddy or Lincoln, I'm guessing. Maybe even Washington or something. He's always reminded me a bit of John Adams, personally, whether he saw that parallel himself or not.

Reagan, believe it or not, took a lot of inspiration from FDR. Of course he was a big fan during the FDR years, but even during his own presidency he never lost his admiration for FDR, looking to him often for influence on things like rhetoric and style even though his own policies were now far to the right of FDR's. However, Reagan indeed also looked up to Coolidge, reviving his conservative policies and sort of blending them with FDR's style. You might even say that odd mix of Coolidge and FDR was key to Reagan's success.

Carter admired Truman, and borrowed his famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign for use on the Oval Office desk again.

Ford's favorite was probably Washington or Lincoln or something, I'm guessing, but I honestly am not too sure of this one. Maybe Eisenhower?

Nixon's was known to be Lincoln, even though he hardly resembled "Honest Abe."

LBJ was a huge fan of FDR, of course. He saw him as a role model during the New Deal years during which he himself played a part implementing his agenda. But he also looked up to Lincoln and dreamed of being remembered as the 20th century Lincoln, inspiring many of his Civil Rights efforts.

JFK was actually a big admirer of Thomas Jefferson, once famously saying to a gathering of intellectuals at the White House that there had never been as much intelligence in that room before, except when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

Eisenhower's favorite was definitely Washington, for pretty obvious reasons.

For Truman it actually might have been Andrew Jackson, who he read a lot about in his childhood in Jackson County; that idealized image of Jackson became something of a hero to him.

FDR's was probably his cousin Teddy, who he greatly looked up to. But I'm sure he had a soft spot for Wilson as well, as his administration was the first he served in. He also quoted Jefferson a lot.

[Clarence Boddicker]

I've read Nixon strangely admired Wilson.

[Alben Barkley]

I've read Nixon strangely admired Wilson.

I guess it's not that strange since the favorite policy area of both was foreign policy. But Wilson was a liberal internationalist and Nixon a foreign policy "realist," so they were quite different in that regard.

They had similar personalities too in that both were quite stubborn and rigid; Nixon likely would have seen Wilson as a "fighter" like himself.

[Nyvin]

Trump: Trump

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Goldwater
Nixon
Ford
Reagan
Bush Sr
Bush Jr

Evangelicals
Eisenhower Rs
Eisenhower
Hoover
Harding
Coolidge
Taft
Teddy
McKinley

Secular Anti Slavery
Lincoln Whigs
Washington
Adam's
Q Adam's
Harrison
Tyler
Taylor
Fillmore
Lincoln
Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Harrison II

FDR
Obama
Clinton
Carter
Johnson
Kennedy
Truman
FDR

States rights Ds
Jefferson
Jackson
Van Buren
Polk
Pierce
Buchanan
Cleveland
Wilson

[Badger]

For pretty much every post Civil War Republican one can probably assume Lincoln, or possibly Washington. W probably would have picked his father or Reagan, and as previously noted Trump would pick himself.

Grover Cleveland and Wilson probably most admired Jefferson and Washington, FDR ditto Plus Lincoln.

[Perlen vor den Schweinen]

Goldwater
Nixon
Ford
Reagan
Bush Sr
Bush Jr

Evangelicals
Eisenhower Rs
Eisenhower
Hoover
Harding
Coolidge
Taft
Teddy
McKinley

Secular Anti Slavery
Lincoln Whigs
Washington
Adam's
Q Adam's
Harrison
Tyler
Taylor
Fillmore
Lincoln
Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Harrison II

FDR
Obama
Clinton
Carter
Johnson
Kennedy
Truman
FDR

States rights Ds
Jefferson
Jackson
Van Buren
Polk
Pierce
Buchanan
Cleveland
Wilson

I'd move Van Buren to the "Secular Anti Slavery" category, seeing as he ran as the Free Soil Party candidate in 1848.

[Orser67]

Generally speaking, the favorite president of most pre-FDR Democrats (+Madison and Monroe) was Jackson or Jefferson, and they both maintained quite a following in the party until quite recently; my guess is that Jefferson might also have been the pick for William Henry Harrison and Tyler. FDR would, if nothing else, be high on the list for Truman, LBJ, Clinton, and Obama, but he was also admired by Reagan and has influenced every modern president.

Lincoln and Washington tended to be popular among presidents of both parties, but especially Republicans; Washington also ranked high with JQA and Taylor. Those five (Jackson, Jefferson, FDR, Lincoln, and Washington) would be my guess as to the most popular choices. Theodore Roosevelt is also probably in the conversation.

[TDAS04]

George W. Bush:  Reagan or his Dad.

Recent presidential runners up
Al Gore: FDR?
John Kerry: The guy with the same initials, same state
John McCain:  Lincoln or Reagan.  Or maybe Teddy
Mitt Romney:  Reagan?
Hillary Clinton:  LBJ?

Jeb Bush:  His dad or brother
The rest of the 2016 GOP runners up: Reagan

[Ye We Can]

Why does everyone say Andrew Jackson for Trump? Whenever he compares himself to other presidents he always puts himself over everybody but occasionally Abraham Lincoln.

[SevenEleven]

George W. Bush:  Reagan or his Dad.

Recent presidential runners up
Al Gore: FDR?
John Kerry: The guy with the same initials, same state
John McCain:  Lincoln or Reagan.  Or maybe Teddy
Mitt Romney:  Reagan?
Hillary Clinton:  LBJ?

Jeb Bush:  His dad or brother
The rest of the 2016 GOP runners up: Reagan

I believe McCain is on record for Teddy.

Hillary's favorite is obviously Bill Clinton.

[HisGrace]

Misread Jackson as being next to Obama in the OP and was pretty confused for a second.

The obvious answer for Trump is himself.

Pretty sure he actually has declared himself the greatest president of all time before.