They may not have been the most successful bids for election—and some definitely didn't stand the test of time—but these are certainly the funniest presidential campaign slogans ever created.
12 of the Funniest Presidential Campaign Slogans in U.S. History
Updated on Jun. 18, 2025
“We Polked You in ’44, We Shall Pierce You in ’52”
Campaign slogan for: Franklin Pierce in 1852
The electorate wants a presidential candidate with a plan, but this may not have been what the voters in the 1852 election had in mind. As antagonizing and borderline violent as it may sound today, the idea behind Franklin Pierce’s campaign slogan, “We Polked You in ’44, We Shall Pierce you in ’52,” had more to do with name recognition and wordplay than any type of swordplay.
This was the Democrats’ attempt to capitalize on the legacy of James Polk, who, like Pierce, started out without being widely known but went on to become a popular president. It worked, and Pierce defeated the Whig nominee, General Winfield Scott.
“Don’t Swap Horses When Crossing Streams”
Campaign slogan for: Abraham Lincoln in 1864
Though this may sound more like something you’d find written on a souvenir kitchen towel from a ranch gift shop, it’s actually Abraham Lincoln’s slogan from his bid for reelection in 1864. At this point, the Civil War was in full swing, and while it can be hard for us today to imagine a scenario where Lincoln was defeated in the election, it was an outcome he was concerned about.
The electorate at the time kept looking for new people to solve the country’s evolving problems, and prior to 1864, the last incumbent to be reelected was Andrew Jackson in 1832. Lincoln used his campaign slogan, “Don’t Swap Horses When Crossing Streams,” as his way of asking voters to stick with him during times of conflict.
“It’s Nothing but Fair to Leave Taft in the Chair”
Campaign slogan for: William Howard Taft in 1912
The 1908 election saw Republican William Howard Taft defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in his third attempt at running for president. This was thanks, in part, to the support Taft received from Teddy Roosevelt, the popular outgoing president. But come 1912, Roosevelt was back in the race—running for a third term as a member of the Progressive (“Bull Moose”) party. It was then that Taft’s team deployed his slogan, “It’s Nothing but Fair to Leave Taft in the Chair.”
According to Margaret Kaplan, an editorial assistant at Apollo Publishers who worked on Words to Win By, a book on campaign slogans, Taft was convinced of the idea that he was disliked by the electorate. “He hated being on the campaign trail. He always wanted to be golfing in his free time. He didn’t like working very much,” she told History. “His slogans, they make me chuckle because it’s like he doesn’t even want it.”
It turned out that neither Taft nor Roosevelt would be returning to the chair that year: Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected by a significant margin.
“Cox and cocktails”
Campaign slogan for: Warren G. Harding in 1920
The 1920 presidential campaign was a race between Republican senator Warren G. Harding, a newspaper editor from Ohio, and Democratic governor James Cox, another newspaper editor from Ohio. Cox opposed Prohibition, while Harding did not. This slogan appears to have been a tactic Harding’s campaign used to paint Cox as a cocktail-sipping, alcohol-tolerating guy.
And whether it was this catchy line or Harding’s more widely known plea for a “return to normalcy,” it worked: Harding defeated Cox with 60% of the popular vote and 71% of the electoral vote.
“Vote for Al Smith and make your wet dreams come true”
Campaign slogan for: Alfred E. Smith in 1928
When New York governor Alfred E. Smith ran for president as the Democratic nominee in 1928, he did so as a “Wet” candidate—meaning that he supported the repeal of Prohibition. Unfortunately for Smith, his working-class roots on the Lower East Side of New York City didn’t play well outside the five boroughs. Neither did his anti-Prohibition stance among the white, rural, Protestant South and Midwest, which were overwhelmingly dry, Mental Floss reports.
Even though Smith himself didn’t flaunt his Wet position, his supporters did, and they unknowingly came up with one of the funniest presidential campaign slogans of all time: “Vote for Al Smith and make your wet dreams come true.”
“Let’s Get Another Deck”
Campaign slogan for: Alfred Landon in 1936
When Alfred Landon ran against Democratic incumbent President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936, he had his work cut out for him. At this point, FDR had enacted several components of the New Deal—designed to get Americans back to work during the Great Depression—and his first bid for reelection was, in a way, a referendum on these new policies.
Landon, meanwhile, was a liberal Republican who supported various parts of the New Deal and other Democratic initiatives. And though Landon did eventually criticize the New Deal and Roosevelt, it was more about the implementation of the programs than the policies themselves. Nevertheless, his campaign slogan was “Let’s Get Another Deck”—a reference to the New Deal by way of a deck of cards.
“Better a Third Termer Than a Third Rater”
Campaign slogan for: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940
Given that Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for president—and won—four times, he had his fair share of funny presidential campaign slogans, both official (like “Happy Days Are Here Again”) and unofficial. One of the catchiest slogans to appear on a campaign button came during the 1940 election and read: “Better a Third Termer Than a Third Rater.” But this wasn’t the work of a politically savvy wordsmith: It was actually a statement made by Sen. Henry Ashurst, a Democrat from Arizona, regarding his feelings on voting for the Republican candidate, Wendell Willkie, in the presidential election.
Though Ashurst and FDR were from the same party, the senator previously backed a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit presidents to serving one six-year term. Even though being reelected in 1940 would put Roosevelt in his third term, Ashurst uttered the words that became a campaign slogan when faced with the political alternative.
“Well, Dewey or Don’t We?”
Campaign slogan for: Thomas Dewey in 1944
New York governor Thomas Dewey is most closely associated with the iconic photo of Harry S. Truman on Nov. 2, 1948, holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune incorrectly announcing, “Dewey Defeats Truman.” But that wasn’t Dewey’s first defeat in a presidential election. That came in 1944, when he ran against Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his third bid for reelection.
FDR referred to his opponent as “the little man on the wedding cake,” while Dewey posed an existential question to the electorate in the form of his campaign slogan: “Well, Dewey or Don’t We?” Turns out, voters did not.
“Adlai and Estes—The Bestest”
Campaign slogan for: Adlai Stevenson in 1956
The 1956 presidential election was a rematch between the candidates who ran against each other four years prior: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower and Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson. In 1952, Eisenhower went with the simple but effective slogan “I Like Ike,” while Stevenson opted for “All the Way with Adlai.”
Both continued to use their previous slogans, but Stevenson added a few more to the mix, including “Adlai and Estes—The Bestest,” referring to his running mate Estes Kefauver. The voters in November 1956 did not agree with this statement, casting their ballots to show that they still liked Ike.
“In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right”
Campaign slogan for: Barry Goldwater in 1964
The year following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, his vice president and predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson, was up for election as the Democratic nominee for president. His Republican opponent was Arizona senator Barry Goldwater, who was widely viewed as a right-wing extremist, including by some in his own party.
Goldwater (or at least his campaign) was a big fan of gimmicky wordplay and merchandise, including buttons that read “Au H20” (Au = gold; H20 = water) and the slogan “In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right.” And according to Kaplan, Goldwater had five other slogans he was trying out. “This one tested the worst out of all of them, but he was so committed to it,” she told History.
“In Your Guts You Know He’s Nuts”
Campaign slogan for: Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964
Not to be outdone, Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign responded to Barry Goldwater’s slogan with their own twist: “In Your Guts You Know He’s Nuts.” It was a reference to Goldwater’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and appeal to his party’s racist base.
“In response to charges of extremism, Goldwater channeled the great Roman orator Cicero in his acceptance speech: ‘Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is virtue,'” Simon Topping, PhD, associate professor of United States history at the University of Plymouth, wrote in 2016. Johnson won the presidential election by a landslide.
“Not Just Peanuts”
Campaign slogan for: Jimmy Carter in 1976
Chances are, if people know one thing about Jimmy Carter (other than the fact that he was a one-term president) it’s that he was a peanut farmer from Georgia. Though they once touted his background to help him appeal to the masses, Carter and his campaign soon grew tired of the peanut shtick and adopted a new slogan, “Not Just Peanuts,” to demonstrate to voters that his background and experience extended beyond legumes.
Though it worked in 1976, Carter lost his bid for reelection against actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan by a significant margin. But Carter kept busy since leaving office, including working with Habitat for Humanity.
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Sources:
- Newsweek: “A History of Terrible Campaign Slogans From We Polked You in ’44 to Build Back Better”
- American Heritage: “Why Do We Say That?”
- History.com: “6 Presidential Campaign Slogans That Fell Flat”
- The Daily Record: “‘Cox and Cocktails,’ presidential campaigns and high-context cultures”
- Mental Floss: “The Greatest Political Button of All Time”
- Time: “National Affairs: How Long a President”
- Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College: “1944: FDR’s Fourth Presidential Campaign”
- Time: “The Nation: Jimmy Carter: Not Just Peanuts”
