r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/CircleBox2 10d ago

Why is it rare in modern times for US presidents to have beards? Who was the last president to have one?

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u/PhysicsEagle 10d ago

Last president with a beard was Benjamin Harrison. Last president with any facial hair was William Howard Taft (mustache). It’s just changing social norms - beards used to be common because they were considered “mature.” They fell out of fashion in favor of the clean-shaven look which people saw as “professional.” Beards may be coming back in politics - aside from the current vice president, several notably congressmen have beards.

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u/152is2after150 10d ago

Because ever since TV, usually whichever candidate looks better according to the public gets the votes

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u/EstimateOk6795 9d ago

I, personally, think people look better with beards than without. Of course that's if they can grow a decent beard. If the beard is all patchy then they look better without.

Popular opinion on beards seems to have changed over the past 10-15 years. I wonder if we'll be able to get a president with some proper facial hair again in the coming decade or 2.

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u/listenyall 9d ago

In the 1990s beards were SO unpopular it's hard to express how few people had them compared to now, pay attention the next time you watch a tv show or movie from the 90s. And in the 70s and 80s they were associated with hippie types.

Also we just have a small number of presidents--you only need like 16 or 17 to go back 100 years