I heard some claim he was banging some woman in a closet while a Secret Service Agent guarded the door. Mrs. Harding came by and asked the agent if she knew where her husband was (all the while you could hear the thump-thump-thump coming from inside), and the mortified agent could only say, “Uh, no, Mrs. Harding.”
“I heard some claim he was banging some woman in a closet while a Secret Service Agent guarded the door.”
Harding is probably the most unfairly maligned politician in US history. He died of heart failure caused by overwork. Secretary of State (and later Chief Justice) Charles Evans Hughes gave the eulogy for his personal friend. While Harding did have an affair as Senator, there is no credible evidence that he did so as President. And when his mistress Carrie Fulton Phillips threatened to expose Senator Harding if he voted for war with Germany, his reply was a vote for war. Liberal John Dean wrote a biography of Harding, and after reviewing the day-to-day records of his administration, even Dean was forced to admit that Harding did a very good job as President.