Embarrassing Siblings Of US Presidents: Family Ties And Scandals

The families of those seeking to win and hold the country's highest office normally understand their respective duties, toeing the line and refraining from anything that could hurt their relatives' chances. Every family has its wildcards, however, and US presidents are no exception. From public acts of indecency to embroiling their brothers in geopolitical scandals, here are five presidents' siblings who prove that, even as commander in chief, no one can embarrass you quite like your family.

Malik Obama: A Complex Family Dynamic

Half-brother to the 44th president, Malik is not quite the supportive sibling that Barack Obama may have wished for. The pair were initially close following their first meeting in 1985 in Washington D.C. Malik went on to be best man at Barack and Michelle's wedding in 1992, led the celebrations in Kenya following his brother's 2008 election, and in 2013 told GQ that it was he who convinced the former president to get in touch with his African roots.

However, the Kenyan-American businessman has cast off the fraternal ties, using his name and heightened platform to lambaste his brother's record and voice support for Donald Trump. The problems began in 2016 when Malik told the New York Post that he felt "deep disappointment" over his brother's record as president, and blamed him for the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, whom he called one of his closest friends.

Malik has since endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections. He was also among a number of surprising guests – including women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual abuse - invited by Trump to the 2016 presidential debates. In 2020, Malik's name again made the rounds after he revived a conspiracy theory over his half-brother's citizenship, sharing an image of a fake birth certificate on Twitter which listed Barack's birthplace as Mombasa, Kenya.

Roger Clinton Jr.: The 'Headache' of the Clinton Family

The younger half-brother of Bill Clinton, Roger Clinton earned the codename "headache" from the Secret Service for the embarrassment he caused the Clintons. In 1985, when Bill was serving as Arkansas Governor, Roger served over a year behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Roger then spent the majority of his brother's two terms attempting to leverage the Clinton name into a music and film career.

Despite starring in such B-grade masterpieces as Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings and Bio-Dome, Roger's thespian efforts never gathered much steam, and his musical successes peaked with a 1999 tour to Pyongyang, North Korea. Negative media attention again surrounded Roger in 2001 when it was revealed that he had received $50,000 and a gold Rolex from the children of Rosario Gambino, a convicted narcotics trafficker and crime family member, in exchange for him lobbying his brother to pardon the mobster.

Donald Nixon: The Brother with Political Shadows

Donald Nixon, born Francis, was the younger brother of Richard Nixon, and had dreams of matching his sibling's political achievements with success in the fast-food industry. In 1957, while his brother was serving as Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president, Donald received a suspiciously generous $205,000 donation from the engineer and business magnate Howard Hughes to bail out his ailing California restaurant. While the drive-in went bankrupt, Hughes's largesse was viewed as an attempt to buy influence with Richard Nixon, a suspicion which dogged his unsuccessful 1960 election bid.

Corruption allegations continued to surround Donald throughout Richard's tenure as president and, during the 1973 Watergate investigations, it was revealed that Richard had even ordered the Secret Service to wiretap his brother's phone. This unprecedented move highlighted the extent to which political families can become entangled in scandals, with family members often caught in the crossfire of their relatives' political ambitions.

Neil Bush: Financial Controversies and Family Legacy

Brother of George W. and son to George H.W. Bush, Neil Bush's career has been defined by a number of financial scandals. In the 1980s, while his father was vice president, Neil served as a director of Silverado Savings and Loan, whose 1988 collapse cost taxpayers over $1 billion. For his role in Silverado's failure, Bush was investigated by the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision, which determined that he had used his position to secure loans for individuals he failed to disclose as business partners, resulting in a ban from the banking industry.

In 1999, Neil was also accused of insider trading, after making nearly $800,000 in a single day after selling his stock in Kopin Corporation on the same day that the company made a lucrative deal with Japanese electronics company JVC. Neil maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the deal, but his ability to stoke up scandal continued after his brother took office in 2001.

Billy Carter: The Wild Card of the Carter Family

Perhaps no one personifies the embarrassing sibling as much as Billy Carter, younger brother of 39th President Jimmy Carter. Billy was the complete antithesis of his pious brother, whose Southern Baptism and alcohol abstention only brought William Alton Carter's extreme lifestyle into sharper relief. Engaging in such public displays of revelry as urinating on an Atlanta Airport runway in full view of reporters, or promoting the failed "Billy Beer" campaign in an effort to profit off of his boozy image, President Carter once remarked that it was easier to control the U.S. Senate than his own brother.

Though his behavior was often amusing, Billy became involved in a geopolitical scandal in the late 1970s, after becoming a de facto envoy for the Libyan government. He visited the North African state several times, hosted a Libyan delegation in Atlanta, and later received a $200,000 loan from Muamar Gaddafi's government in exchange for facilitating oil trade with the U.S. Jimmy expressed "concern" at his brother's actions, which sparked a 1980 Senate subcommittee investigation into "activities of individuals representing interests of foreign governments."

The whole affair, dubbed "Billygate" by the Washington Post, still stands as one of the most notorious instances of fraternal embarrassment. As we reflect on these stories, it becomes clear that the dynamics within presidential families can lead to unexpected twists, and often, the wildcards within these families can be as notable as the leaders themselves.