View source for President of the United States

{{Redirects here|President of the United States of America}}
{{For2|a list of the officeholders|[[List of presidents of the United States]]}}{{Infobox official post|post=President|body=the United States|insignia=Seal Of The President Of The United States Of America.svg|insigniasize=150|insigniacaption=[[Seal of the president of the United States|Seal of the President]]|flag=Flag of the President of the United States of America.svg|flagsize=150|flagborder=yes|flagcaption=[[Flag of the president of the United States|Flag of the President]]|image=Official Presidential Portrait of President Donald J. Trump (2025).jpg|incumbent=[[Donald Trump]]|incumbentsince=January 20, 2025|department={{plainlist|
* [[Federal government of the United States|Executive branch of the U.S. government]]
* [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|Executive Office of the President]]
}}|style={{plainlist|
* [[President (government title)|Mr. President]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1891/08/02/archives/how-to-address-the-president-he-is-not-your-excellency-or-your.html |agency=The Washington Star |title=How to Address the President; He Is Not Your Excellency or Your Honor, But Mr. President |date=August 2, 1891 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/handbook/hb/431-2-h/chap4.html |title=USGS Correspondence Handbook—Chapter 4 |date=July 18, 2007 |publisher=United States Geological Survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926000950/http://www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/handbook/hb/431-2-h/chap4.html |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |access-date=November 15, 2012}}</ref> (informal)
* [[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ita.doc.gov/ita_sec/Address%20and%20Salutation.htm |title=Models of Address and Salutation |publisher=[[International Trade Administration]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720073107/http://www.ita.doc.gov/ita_sec/Address%20and%20Salutation.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2010 |access-date=September 4, 2010 }}</ref> (formal)
* [[Excellency|His Excellency]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120927014351/http://www.un.int/protocol/documents/Hspmfm.pdf "Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs"], Protocol and Liaison Service, [[United Nations]]. Retrieved November 1, 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/01/remarks-president-obama-president-mubarak-his-majesty-king-abdullah-prim |title=Remarks by President Obama, President Mubarak, His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas Before Working Dinner |last=The White House Office of the Press Secretary |date=September 1, 2010 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=The White House |access-date=July 19, 2011}}</ref> (diplomatic)
}}|type={{plainlist|
* [[Head of state]]
* [[Head of government]]
* [[Commander-in-chief]]
}}|abbreviation=POTUS|member_of={{plainlist|
* [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]]
* [[United States Domestic Policy Council|Domestic Policy Council]]
* [[National Economic Council (United States)|National Economic Council]]
* [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]
}}|residence=[[White House]]|seat=[[Washington, D.C.]]|appointer=[[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]]|termlength=Four years|termlength_qualified=[[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|renewable once]]|constituting_instrument=[[Constitution of the United States]] (1789)|formation={{start date and age|1789|3|4|p=1|br=1}}<ref name="formation">"The conventions of nine states having adopted the Constitution, Congress, in September or October, 1788, passed a resolution in conformity with the opinions expressed by the Convention and appointed the first Wednesday in March of the ensuing year as the day, and the then seat of Congress as the place, 'for commencing proceedings under the Constitution.'
<p>"Both governments could not be understood to exist at the same time. The new government did not commence until the old government expired. It is apparent that the government did not commence on the Constitution's being ratified by the ninth state, for these ratifications were to be reported to Congress, whose continuing existence was recognized by the Convention, and who were requested to continue to exercise their powers for the purpose of bringing the new government into operation. In fact, Congress did continue to act as a government until it dissolved on the first of November by the successive disappearance of its members. It existed potentially until March 2, the day preceding that on which the members of the new Congress were directed to assemble." {{ussc|name=Owings v. Speed|link=supreme.justia.com|volume=18|page=420|pin=422|year=1820|reporter=Wheat|reporter-volume=5}}</p></ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maier |first=Pauline |title=Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788 |date=2010 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-86854-7 |location=New York, New York |page=433 |author-link=Pauline Maier}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/march-4-a-forgotten-huge-day-in-american-politics/ |title=March 4: A forgotten huge day in American history |date=March 4, 2013 |publisher=[[National Constitution Center]] |location=Philadelphia |access-date=July 29, 2018 |archive-date=February 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224184927/https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/march-4-a-forgotten-huge-day-in-american-politics |url-status=dead }}</ref>|first=[[George Washington]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/presidential-election-of-1789/ |title=Presidential Election of 1789 |website=Digital Encyclopedia |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |location=Mount Vernon, Virginia |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref>|salary=$400,000 per year{{efn-ua|In addition to $100,000 in travel reimbursement, $19,000 for entertainment and $50,000 for additional expenses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elkins |first=Kathleen |date=2018-02-19 |title=Here's the last time the president of the United States got a raise |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/16/how-much-the-president-on-the-united-states-gets-paid.html |access-date= |website=[[CNBC]] |language=en}}</ref>}}|website={{url|https://www.whitehouse.gov/|whitehouse.gov}}|deputy=[[Vice President of the United States]]}}
The '''president of the United States''' ('''POTUS''')<ref>{{Cite web|title=POTUS - Presidents of the United States|url=https://potus.com/|access-date=2023-11-23|language=en}}</ref> is the [[head of state]] and [[head of government]] of the [[United States|United States of America]] and the [[Commander-in-Chief|commander-in-chief]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]]. The president is also the head of the [[Executive (government)|executive branch]] of the [[federal government of the United States]] and is the chairman of the [[Cabinet of the United States|presidential cabinet]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=President of the United States|url=https://ballotpedia.org/President_of_the_United_States|access-date=2023-11-23|website=Ballotpedia|language=en}}</ref>

[[Donald Trump]] is the 47th and current president of the United States, who has been in office since January 20, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|title=President Donald J. Trump|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/donald-j-trump/|access-date=2025-01-20|website=The White House|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Eligibility and requirements ==
[[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 5: Qualifications for office|Article II, Section 1, Clause 5]] of the Constitution states for a person to serve as president must:
* be a [[Natural-born-citizen clause|natural-born citizen]] of the United States. <ref group=note>Foreign-born American citizens who met the age and residency requirements at the time the Constitution was adopted were also eligible for the presidency. However, this allowance has since become obsolete.</ref>
* be at least thirty-five years old.
* be a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.
== Election process and presidential terms ==
The president is elected by the people through the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] to a four-year term, along with the vice presidential candidate or the incumbent vice president as their running mate.<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/our_government/executive_branch/ Our Government • The Executive Branch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126203410/http://www.whitehouse.gov/our_government/executive_branch/ |date=2009-01-26 }}, The White House.</ref> The presidential candidate or incumbent president must have at least 270 electoral college votes to win the election.

The [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-second Amendment]] to the Constitution prevents anyone from being elected president more than twice. This amendment was added after [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]] served four terms from 1933 until he died in 1945.
== President-elect of the United States ==
The [[president-elect of the United States]] is the candidate who has won the [[United States presidential election]] and is awaiting inauguration to become the president.
== Presidential Inauguration ==
The president-elect immediately began their four-year term on [[United States presidential inauguration|inauguration day]] every four years on January 20. The original inauguration date was held on March 4, but was later changed in 1933.
== Oath of office ==
The presidential oath of office, mandated by Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Article 2 Section 1 Clause 8 {{!}} Constitution Annotated {{!}} Congress.gov {{!}} Library of Congress|url=https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/clause-8/|access-date=2026-04-19|website=constitution.congress.gov|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Presidential Inaugurations: I Do Solemnly Swear|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/presidential-inaugurations-i-do-solemnly-swear|access-date=2026-04-19|website=White House Historical Association|language=en}}</ref>

{{Quote box|"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God."}}
== Executive Office of the President ==
[[File:Flag of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.svg|thumb|Flag of the Executive Office of the President of the United States]]
The [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|Executive Office of the President]] consists of the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]. The office consists of several offices and agencies, such as the White House Office, the staff working directly for and reporting to the president, including White House staff, the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], and the [[Office of Management and Budget]].
== Presidential line of succession ==
[[File:Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office, November 1963.jpg|thumb|Lyndon B. Johnson takes the presidential oath of office aboard Air Force One after the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]] on November 22, 1963.]]
If the president dies, resigns, or is impeached, the vice president will succeed to the presidential office and duties. Fifteen other federal government officials also rank in the succession line of the president.

[[Abraham Lincoln]], [[James A. Garfield]], [[William McKinley]], and [[John F. Kennedy]] were assassinated while in office. [[William Henry Harrison]], [[Zachary Taylor]], [[Warren G. Harding]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt]] died from illness while president. [[Calvin Coolidge]] became president, when [[Warren G. Harding]] died while in office.

[[Richard Nixon]] is the only U.S. president to have resigned from office.

[[Andrew Johnson]], [[Bill Clinton]], and [[Donald Trump]] are the only presidents to have been [[impeachment|impeached]].
== Travel and Transportation ==
{{Gallery|File:Limo One 2022.jpg|United States presidential state car – The presidential car is nicknamed "The Beast" is used for driving the president|File:Air Force 1 landing at Pittsburgh IAP.jpg|Air Force One –  the presidential airplane used for carrying the president domestically and on foreign trips|File:President Trump Departs for Florida (49193804107).jpg|Marine One – the presidential helicopter used for carrying the president|title=|align=center|footer=|style=|state=|mode=packed|height=160|width=|captionstyle=}}
== Residences ==
{{Gallery|File:White House lawn (1).tif|The White House, the official residence and workplace of the president|File:Camp David.jpg|Camp David, the official presidential retreat of the president|File:President's Guest House.jpg|Blair House, the official presidential guest house of the president|title=|align=center|footer=|style=|state=|mode=packed|height=160|width=|captionstyle=}}

The [[White House]] is the [[official residence]] of the president and the [[First Family of the United States|first family of the United States]]. it has been the official residence of every U.S. president since [[John Adams]] in 1800.

[[Camp David]] is the official presidential retreat residence if the president decides to go on vacation along with his family.

[[Blair House]] is the official presidential guest house for foreign diplomats and heads of state.
== Protection ==
[[File:United States President Barack Obama with Senator Sherrod Brown, Representative Mary Jo Kilroy, and Secret Service personnel arriving at Port Columbus International Airport.jpg|thumb|President Barack Obama surrounded by Secret Service agents.]]

The [[United States Secret Service]] is in charge with protecting the president and the first family. As part of their protection, presidents, first ladies, their children and other immediate family members are given Secret Service [[Code name|codenames]]. These codenames are used for security and safety reasons.
== List of living former presidents ==
As of January 2025, there are four living former presidents, the oldest being [[Joe Biden]], who served as the 46th President of the United States from 2021–2025. The most recent death of a former president was that of [[Jimmy Carter]], who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977–1981, on December 29, 2024. 

{{Gallery
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|20260306 Chicago, Estados Unidos- Exequias del reverendo Jesse Louis- Juan Cano16 (Bill Clinton).jpg|{{center|[[Bill Clinton]] <br> 1993–2001<br><small>{{birth date and age|1946|8|19}}</small>}}
|Funeral Service for Former Vice President Richard B. Cheney 9401952 (cropped).jpg|{{center|[[George W. Bush]] <br> 2001–2009<br><small>{{birth date and age|1946|7|6}}</small>}}
|20260306 Chicago, Estados Unidos- Exequias del reverendo Jesse Louis- Juan Cano16 (Barack Obama).jpg|{{center|[[Barack Obama]] <br> 2009–2017<br><small>{{birth date and age|1961|8|4}}</small>}}
|Funeral Service for former Vice President Richard B. Cheney 9401905 (Joe Biden).jpg|{{center|[[Joe Biden]] <br> 2021–2025<br><small>{{birth date and age|1942|11|20}}</small>}}
}}
== Presidential rankings and approval ratings ==
{{main|Historical rankings of presidents of the United States}}

By a majority of historical sources by historians or by the American people; [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[George Washington]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], [[Woodrow Wilson]], [[Barack Obama]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Calvin Coolidge]], [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]] are ranked high on polls.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-17/history-presidents-truman-jefferson-wilson | title=Truman and Coolidge go up, Jefferson and Jackson go down. How history remembers presidents | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=17 February 2020 | access-date=2021-04-22 | archive-date=2021-04-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422230430/https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-17/history-presidents-truman-jefferson-wilson | url-status=live }}</ref>

On the other hand; [[James Buchanan]], [[Warren G. Harding]], [[Herbert Hoover]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[George W. Bush]] and [[Franklin Pierce]] are thought to be the worst.
== Presidential libraries and museums ==
{{Main|Presidential library}}

Since [[Herbert Hoover]], each president has created an institutional place known as a [[presidential library]] for preserving and making available his papers, records, and other documents and materials. There are currently thirteen presidential libraries in the NARA system.

Several presidential libraries contain the graves of the president such as [[Richard Nixon]], [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George H. W. Bush]].

== President Of The United States Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg|[[George Washington]], the first president of the United States

File:Franklin D Roosevelt - radio broadcast.jpg|President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] delivers a [[Fireside chats|radio address]] in 1933.

File:Lyndon Johnson signing Civil Rights Act, July 2, 1964.jpg|President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] signs the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964 Civil Rights Act]] at the [[White House]] on July 2, 1964, as [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and others look on.

File:2018 SOTU 27628831.jpg|President [[Donald Trump]] delivers his [[2018 State of the Union Address]] before [[United States Congress|Congress]].

File:President George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev.jpg|President [[George H. W. Bush]] and Soviet president [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] sign the [[1990 Chemical Weapons Accord]] at the [[White House]].

File:Lincoln O-62 by Gardner, 1862-crop.jpg|President [[Abraham Lincoln]] successfully preserved the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Here he is (center) with General [[George B. McClellan]] (left), and soldiers at [[Antietam National Battlefield|Antietam]], on October 3, 1862.

File: P20220408AS-1467 (52067437977).jpg|President [[Joe Biden]] with his [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] appointee Justice [[Ketanji Brown Jackson]] and Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] (in background) following Brown Jackson's 2022 [[United States Senate]] confirmation

File:Wilson opening day 1916.jpg|President [[Woodrow Wilson]] throws out the ceremonial first ball on [[Opening Day]] in 1916.

File:President Bill Clinton at Buckingham Palace.jpg|President [[Bill Clinton]] reviews honor guards at [[Buckingham Palace]] during a 1995 state visit to the UK.

File:President Reagan giving his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Dallas Texas.jpg|President [[Ronald Reagan]] giving his acceptance speech at the [[1984 Republican National Convention]].
</gallery>
== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist-ua}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Other websites ==
{{commons}}
* {{Cite web|title=The White House|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/executive-office-of-the-president/|access-date=November 23, 2023|website=Executive Office of the President}}
* {{Cite web|title=The White House|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/|access-date=November 23, 2023|website=www.whitehouse.gov}}

{{USPresidents}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States| ]]
[[Category:Heads of state of the United States]]