Norm adherence
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
Strong norm-respecting. Created modern institutional-ethics framework (IG Act, Ethics in Government Act). Lost 1980 gracefully.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Carter institutionalized modern executive-branch ethics framework while personally modeling adherence; smooth presidential transition despite electoral defeat.
congress.gov ↗
Generally respected institutional norms. Some unilateralism on Bay of Pigs. No major norm violations.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 2·Academic·Unverified
Kennedy respected presidential norms despite some controversial unilateral actions; no major institutional integrity failures during term.
Kennedy administration records; standard scholarship
Generally norm-respecting. EO 10450's institutionalization of employment discrimination on sexuality grounds was the principal norm-departure. 22nd Amendment respected.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Eisenhower respected 22nd Amendment term limits and executed orderly transition to Kennedy administration despite party defeat.
22nd Amendment compliance; smooth transition to Kennedy (1961)
Strong restoration of post-Trump norms. Smooth Biden-Trump transition January 2025 despite tensions. Withdrew from 2024 race (August 2024) — graceful. Hunter pardon norm-eroding.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Biden withdrew from 2024 race after debate concerns — only sitting president to do so since LBJ 1968; presided over smooth transition to Trump T2.
whitehouse.gov ↗
Withdrew from 1968 race (March 31, 1968) restoring 2-term norm voluntarily despite eligibility. Generally respected institutional norms despite Vietnam expansion.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
LBJ withdrew from 1968 reelection campaign citing Vietnam burdens; restored two-term limit norm voluntarily.
lbjlibrary.gov ↗
Generally norm-respecting. Significant executive action late-term (DACA 2012). Drone program executive precedent. Smooth transition to Trump despite policy opposition.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
DACA established by executive memo after immigration reform failed in Congress; controversial as expansion of executive immigration discretion.
dhs.gov ↗
Pardon of Nixon controversial as institutional-norm issue. Otherwise norm-respecting. Restored Watergate-era constitutional balance.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Ford's preemptive Nixon pardon was constitutionally legitimate but normatively controversial; contributed to Ford's 1976 defeat.
fordlibrarymuseum.gov ↗
Followed 22nd Amendment spirit by declining 1952 race (eligible under grandfather clause). BUT: steel seizure norm violation; Korean War without declaration set major precedent.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Truman declined to run in 1952 despite being eligible under the 22nd Amendment's grandfather clause, restoring two-term-limit norm voluntarily.
trumanlibrary.gov ↗
Iran-Contra pardons norm-eroding. Otherwise norm-respecting. Smooth transition to Clinton.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Bush's last-minute Christmas Eve pardons of Iran-Contra figures aborted ongoing prosecutions and were criticized as obstructing accountability.
archives.gov ↗
Iran-Contra violated Boland Amendment. Signing statement expansion. Some Cold War norm restoration after Nixon-Carter era turbulence. Mixed pattern.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Reagan administration's NSC staff explicitly violated Boland Amendment prohibition on Contra aid; Reagan issued ~250 signing statements (significant escalation in use).
Boland Amendment (1982-1984 versions); Reagan signing statements per ABA report
Broke the 2-term Washingtonian norm (1940, 1944); led directly to 22nd Amendment (1951). Court-packing plan (1937) attacked judicial independence. Multiple wartime emergency-powers expansions.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
The 22nd Amendment was enacted specifically in response to FDR's four-term presidency, formalizing a constitutional limit where the prior 150-year informal norm had been broken.
archives.gov ↗
Second president to be impeached (after Andrew Johnson). Multiple norm breaches. Survived Senate trial. Last-day pardon abuse.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Clinton acquitted on both Articles (perjury 45-55 guilty, obstruction 50-50); first impeachment trial since 1868, defining institutional event of term.
senate.gov ↗
Bush v. Gore (2000) precedent contested. Iraq War without genuine UN authorization. Torture program. Indefinite detention. Signing statement abuse.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Bush issued more signing statements claiming authority to ignore parts of laws than all prior presidents combined; multiple SCOTUS rulings struck down detention and military commission frameworks.
supreme.justia.com ↗
Per §4.6 v1.2, Watergate is most directly attributed here at 8.3. Saturday Night Massacre (October 20, 1973). Impoundment of appropriated funds. Cambodia secret bombing. Claims of executive privilege over criminal evidence.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox after Cox refused to drop subpoena for White House tapes; AG Richardson and Deputy AG Ruckelshaus resigned rather than comply with the firing order — defining institutional-norm-breaking event of modern presidency.
Saturday Night Massacre records (Special Prosecutor Cox firing, AG Richardson resignation, October 20, 1973); United States v. Nixon (1974)
On January 20, 2025, Trump issued pardons and commutations covering approximately 1,500 January 6 defendants, including individuals convicted of assault on officers and the seditious-conspiracy convicts Stewart Rhodes (Oath Keepers) and Enrique Tarrio (Proud Boys). Critics, including bipartisan former prosecutors and several editorial boards, characterized the pardons as legitimating political violence; the administration framed them as correcting prosecutorial overreach. Subsequent administration actions found by federal courts to fail to comply with court orders, the EO 14171 Schedule F revival, and impoundment of appropriated funds are documented at sub-criteria 4.3 and 13.2.
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
On January 20, 2025, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 January 6 defendants, including individuals convicted of assault on officers and of seditious conspiracy. Critics characterized the pardons as legitimating political violence; the administration framed them as correcting prosecutorial overreach.
archives.gov ↗
Per §4.6 attribution: January 6 primary attribution here. Twice impeached (Ukraine 2019, Jan 6 2021). Refused peaceful transition. Refused to concede 2020 election. Pressured states to overturn results. Pardoned political allies (Manafort, Stone, Flynn).
View 1 source →Hide sources ↑
- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Trump T1 was twice impeached by House (December 2019 for Ukraine pressure; January 2021 for incitement of insurrection) — first president to be twice impeached; refused peaceful transition for first time since 1860 secession.
archives.gov ↗