21 Of The Weirdest Presidential Photos You'll Ever See

By Gabe Paoletti | Edited By John Kuroski

Published October 9, 2017

Updated March 12, 2024

Wonderfully weird photos of presidents who may not have realized there were cameras around.

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Ronald Reagan wags his hands and makes faces at reporters attending a dinner for the White House News Photographers Association after asking whether the gesture would be kept "off the record" and saying he'd waited years for the opportunity. May 19, 1983.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Lyndon Johnson is interrupted by his pet dog Yuki jumping up on the desk while he prepares to sign a meat inspection bill. 1967. Bettmann/Getty Images

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George W. Bush pauses to embrace a person dressed as the Easter Bunny during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House. March 24, 2008.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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George H.W. Bush takes a toboggan ride with Arnold Schwarzenegger at Camp David. 1991.Jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma/Getty Images

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George H.W. Bush participates in an aerobics exercise class at a YMCA. 1980. Gene Del Biano/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

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Ronald Reagan wears sweatpants aboard Air Force One. Date unspecified.Wikimedia Commons

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Richard Nixon shouts gleefully after he was nominated as the GOP nominee for president. July 27, 1960. Bettmann/Getty Images

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A stickler for keeping in shape, Harry Truman, "coach" of the Truman Athletic League organized by the newsmen who covered his trip, leads the club in calisthenics aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on the 12-day cruise from Rio de Janeiro. 1947. Bettmann/Getty Images

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Calvin Coolidge wears the feathered headdress given to him by the Sioux during a celebration at Deadwood, South Dakota. 1927. Bettmann/Getty Images

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Gerald R. Ford campaigns from atop a circus elephant. 1950.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Theodore Roosevelt poses beside a slain elephant during a hunt in Kenya's Meru Boma district. 1909.Bettmann/Getty Images

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After learning he has been selected as the Republican Party's nominee for president, Warren G. Harding joins the band at his home in Marion, Ohio, playing the tuba. 1920. Bettmann/Getty Images

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Halloween fun in the Oval Office as Caroline and John Jr. play "trick or treat" with their father, John F. Kennedy. October 1963.U.S. National Archives

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Bill Clinton walks with his cat, Socks, on his shoulders. Date unspecified.U.S. National Archives

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Jimmy Carter stands in a pile of peanuts at the Carter family peanut warehouse in Plains, Georgia. At the time, Carter was taking time off from campaigning as a presidential candidate. 1976.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Gerald Ford walks with the Kilgore College Rangerettes in Kilgore, Texas, during the Texas presidential primary. Date unspecified.Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images

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Theodore Roosevelt and his companion, Baron Rudolf V. Stalin Pacha, ride camels in the Khartoum Desert of Sudan. 1909.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Woodrow Wilson is blindfolded so he can draw the first capsule for induction in the World War I draft lottery. 1917. Bettmann/Getty Images

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Ronald Reagan with his costars Diana Lynn and Bonzo, in a publicity still from the 1951 comedy, Bedtime for Bonzo.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Calvin Coolidge and Speaker of the House Fredrick Gillett exercise in the Congressional gym. 1923. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

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During a press barbecue at his Ranch, Lyndon Johnson shows off his riding skills as he cuts a cow from the herd. November 4, 1964. Bettmann/Getty Images

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Dressed in pristine suits, coached by a team of handlers, and constantly aware that there are cameras around, U.S. presidents are almost always the very picture of poise when they're in front of a lens.

This, of course, makes it all the more striking when some lucky photographer catches the president in a candid moment that reveals just how human these people are after all.

From Ronald Reagan in sweatpants to Teddy Roosevelt on safari, above are some of the most unusual presidential photos ever taken.

History Uncovered Podcast

Episode 44: The Secret Lives Of U.S. Presidents

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was a champion wrestler or that Lyndon Johnson was a fervent practical joker? These are the most fascinating facts and lesser-known stories about America's presidents.

Next, discover the single most fascinating fact about each and every U.S. president. Then, read about the strangest presidential assassination attempts of all time.

author

Gabe Paoletti is a New York City-based writer and a former Editorial Intern at All That's Interesting. He holds a Bachelor's in English from Fordham University.

editor

Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.

Citation copied

COPY

Paoletti, Gabe. "21 Candid Photos Of U.S. Presidents Caught With Their Guard Down." AllThatsInteresting.com, October 9, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/weird-presidential-photos. Accessed September 26, 2025.