From controversial musicians to infamous historical figures, these White House guests have left a lasting and often disturbing impression. Join us as we explore the most unsettling visitors who walked the halls of America's most famous residence, revealing shocking stories that will make you see history differently.
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00:00I looked the man in the eye. I found it to be very straightforward and trustworthy.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at White House visitations that aged disturbingly
00:10given what we know now. Already, Guiteau had become a familiar face at the White House.
00:15Garfield's secretary remembered seeing him at least 15 times.
00:22J. Robert Oppenheimer
00:23In the 1940s, J. Robert Oppenheimer was celebrated as the father of the atomic bomb,
00:28effectively ending World War II. Given the bombing's lasting impact on Japan and the
00:33threat nuclear weapons still pose, though, history looks back at Oppenheimer's legacy
00:37with mixed feelings.
00:38Oppenheimer, he's tricky, because on the one hand, he always defended making and using
00:44the bombs during World War II. On the other hand, he thought that the appropriate response
00:48to having made and used those bombs in World War II was to make sure that they could never
00:52be used again.
00:54Even Oppenheimer appeared conflicted at the time. This was reflected on October 25,
00:581942, when he met President Harry Truman at the White House. While Truman was enthusiastic
01:04about the future of atomic energy, Oppenheimer expressed concern, feeling there should be
01:08restrictions. Oppenheimer further angered the president when he said, quote,
01:12"...I feel I have blood on my hands."
01:14His trip to the Oval Office hurt Oppenheimer's relationship with Washington,
01:18signifying that his creation was now out of his hands.
01:21I think when you play a meaningful part in bringing about the death of over 100,000 people
01:30and the injury of a comparable number, you naturally don't think of that as with ease.
01:42Kanye West. When Ye visited President Donald Trump at the White House in October 2018,
01:48the two discussed North Korea, the 13th Amendment,
01:51and how the MAGA hat made the rapper feel like Superman.
01:53It was something about when I put this hat on, it made me feel like Superman.
01:58It was weird, but we all thought this would be the extent of West's political tirades.
02:02The meeting took on a more disturbing sentiment when West officially announced
02:06his presidential campaign in July 2020.
02:09The campaign rally, which was live-streamed on YouTube and carried on local TV stations,
02:13did little to clarify whether West is genuinely trying to win the presidency.
02:18Despite this, Trump invited West to dinner at Mar-a-Lago in November 2022.
02:23Also among the guest list was Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
02:26West himself had recently made several anti-Semitic remarks with more following.
02:31While his 2018 Oval Office visit once just seemed like a quirky news story,
02:35it was truly a turning point in West's history of controversy.
02:39From our standpoint, this was just set up to be a lunch
02:43of two people that I like, and I guess they like me.
02:46And we're going to have lunch, we're going to talk.
02:48You said yes, you know I love you.
02:52But I don't want to put you in that spot.
02:54No, I'm standing in that spot. I love this guy right here.
02:58Sean Combs. From one notorious musician to another,
03:01Sean P. Diddy Combs received a White House tour from President George W. Bush himself
03:06in December 2004.
03:08Combs was in Washington for the Kennedy Center Honors,
03:10where Ruby Dee and Ozzie Davis were among the honorees.
03:13Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee have given great gifts, not just to audiences,
03:19but to the generation of African American performers, directors,
03:23and writers who have traveled the road that they have made.
03:25Combs found time to drop by the White House,
03:27although he didn't realize the president and first lady would be by his side.
03:31According to the New York Post,
03:33Combs and Laura Bush realized they shared the same birthday.
03:36The president thus suggested Combs throw a birthday party for them next year.
03:40Combs reportedly said, quote,
03:42I'll arrange that, adding, quote,
03:44Nice house as he left.
03:45Even the White House wanted to experience a Diddy party.
03:48Twenty years later, the Bushes might feel differently.
03:51As alleged in the indictment, to carry out this conduct,
03:54Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy
03:59that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity.
04:03D.W. Griffith, 1915's The Birth of a Nation,
04:06was the highest-grossing film of its era.
04:13It was such a phenomenon that the film would be screened at the White House
04:16for President Woodrow Wilson.
04:17Also present was the film's director, D.W. Griffith.
04:20Griffith might have pushed cinematic techniques forward,
04:23but his film also arguably sent society back with its hateful depiction of Black people.
04:28The blockbuster also helped to reinvigorate the KKK,
04:32with its effects still felt over a century later.
04:35It's not an accident that this very popular movie, perhaps the first blockbuster,
04:40this second Klan, would not just be a smattering of a few tens of thousands of people in the South,
04:45it would be a national organization with millions of members,
04:48and a real political heft throughout the country.
04:50Even in 1915, the film's White House screening was considered divisive,
04:55and has grown more disturbing with time.
04:57The criticisms aimed at Birth of a Nation weren't lost on Griffith,
05:00who responded with his next film, 1916's Intolerance.
05:04However, the damage was already done.
05:07This film was super popular. This film is, again, a blockbuster,
05:10and it shapes people's perceptions about this country, about their fellow Americans,
05:17about what race is, and how it operates, and all these things.
05:21Bill Cosby
05:22Before his fall from grace, Bill Cosby received numerous awards.
05:26This included the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
05:28which is considered America's highest civilian honor.
05:31Each of these men and women has enriched the life of America and the world,
05:36and we're honored to have them with us here today.
05:39At the White House in 2002, George W. Bush presented the medal to the once-esteemed comedian.
05:44Given Cosby's influence on African-American culture and clean-cut reputation,
05:48he seemed worthy of such an honor...at the time.
05:51The United States proudly honors this truly outstanding American.
06:04Much changed over the following years as Cosby's history of reported sexual abuse came to light.
06:09Cosby was subsequently stripped of various accolades,
06:11with some calling for his Presidential Medal of Freedom to be revoked as well.
06:15President Barack Obama addressed the petition against Cosby in 2015.
06:19While Obama condemned Cosby's alleged behavior,
06:22he said that there wasn't a precedent for taking his medal away.
06:25There's no precedent for revoking a medal. We don't have that mechanism.
06:32Vladimir Putin
06:33Vladimir Putin's favorite president of the United States may be Donald Trump,
06:37although the Russian president has gotten chummy with several U.S. leaders.
06:41On November 13, 2001,
06:44George W. Bush welcomed Putin to the White House's East Room for a joint press conference.
06:48Bush called this, quote,
06:49"...a new day in the long history of Russian-American relations,
06:53a day of progress and a day of hope."
06:55Bush added, quote,
06:57"...our highest priority is to keep terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
07:01Today, no country possesses more nuclear weapons than Russia."
07:05Putin hasn't ruled out the idea of sending the West a warning amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
07:11Concerns that the U.S. presidency could follow Putin's example have also escalated,
07:15making his 2001 visit feel like an ironic omen.
07:19Kevin Spacey
07:20As his presidency neared its conclusion in 2000,
07:23Bill Clinton shot a comedic short film entitled The Final Days.
07:27Any questions?
07:33Helen?
07:34Are you still here?
07:42Produced for the White House Correspondents Association Dinner,
07:45the short followed Clinton as he performed run-of-the-mill tasks around 1600 Pennsylvania
07:50Avenue. The film also featured an appearance from Kevin Spacey,
07:53retrieving his Oscar for American Beauty.
07:56Ever since I was a little boy, I've wanted to be a real actor."
08:01According to Entertainment Weekly,
08:03Spacey slept over at the White House, and agreed to shoot a cameo.
08:07In a way, the short foreshadowed Spacey's turn as President Frank Underwood in House of Cards.
08:12Of course, that show's legacy would be tainted by Spacey's history of reported sexual misconduct.
08:17The same can be said about this short film,
08:20especially considering that Clinton has faced misconduct allegations of his own.
08:24Charles J. Guiteau
08:26Charles J. Guiteau felt his devotion to the Republican Party helped pave the way for James
08:30A. Garfield to become president. As such, Guiteau thought he was owed a consulship,
08:35eyeing a position in Paris or Vienna.
08:37"...convinced that he, too, had played a key role in getting the president elected.
08:42Charles Guiteau had decided on the appropriate payment.
08:45He was going to be the next consul to Paris."
08:48Arriving in Washington, Guiteau visited the White House almost every day,
08:52demanding the job he felt entitled to.
08:55Guiteau also repeatedly went to the State Department and sent letters to Garfield.
08:59Yet Guiteau was always turned down.
09:01"...he's going to the White House every day,
09:03he's going to the State Department every day,
09:05he's sitting in the park outside of the White House, waiting for Garfield,
09:10waiting for any chance to convince the president that he deserves this consulship to Paris."
09:16Guiteau grew more frustrated with Garfield,
09:18suspecting the president might get rid of the patronage system and, in turn,
09:22ruin the Republican Party.
09:24This drove Guiteau to shoot Garfield on July 2, 1881.
09:28The president succumbed to his injuries months later, while Guiteau was hanged for his crimes.
09:32"...Guiteau was put on trial, but there was never any doubt about the outcome.
09:37After 72 days of testimony, it took the jury a little over an hour to find him guilty."
09:43Jeffrey Epstein
09:45This infamous sex offender has been linked to several high-profile figures,
09:49including Presidents Trump and Clinton.
09:51Throughout Clinton's presidency, Epstein visited the White House several times.
09:55According to White House visitor logs, Epstein was usually accompanied by women,
09:59including his partner and fellow sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
10:03In September 1993, Epstein and Maxwell attended a reception for donors who had contributed to
10:08the White House's restoration. During this period, Epstein also met with Clinton aide Mark Middleton
10:13on multiple occasions. Epstein's reputation crumbled in the years to come, culminating
10:19in his self-inflicted death. Clinton has denied any knowledge of Epstein's sex crimes, although
10:24an insider claims the two were, quote, "...close."
10:27Unless the White House walls start talking, we may never know how close.
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10:48John Wilkes Booth
10:49Guiteau wasn't the first person to assassinate a U.S. president. He wasn't the first to visit
10:53the White House, either. On April 11, 1865, two days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee
11:00surrendered to the Union Army, a crowd gathered outside Abraham Lincoln's balcony. From the White
11:05House window, the president proclaimed that he hoped to grant Black Union soldiers the right
11:10to vote.
11:10John Wilkes Booth and some of his fellow conspirators were in the crowd gathered on
11:15April 11 at the White House. Abraham Lincoln spoke and suggested the newly reconstructed
11:20government offer the right to vote to African-American citizens.
11:25This didn't sit well with everyone in the crowd, most notably John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln
11:30was supposedly familiar with Booth's theater work, and had invited him to the White House
11:34a few times. The actor didn't accept these offers, but he was present for what would
11:39be Lincoln's last public speech, which inspired Booth to assassinate the president three days
11:43later.
11:44Three days later, when he heard that Lincoln was going to be attending a play at Ford's
11:49theater, I think he began to make his plans for an assassination.
11:54Can you think of any other disturbing White House guests? Let us know in the comments.
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