He had some thick skin at least

[William Howard Taft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft) was an exceptionally large man. At 6ft 2 inches, 350 pounds, his enormous size was a frequent source of jokes. (As governor-general of the Philippines, he wrote Elihu Root that he had just taken a long horseback ride about his domain and felt fine afterward. How is the horse? came Roots reply. His face was positively cherubic in child-hood; even as an adult, when a walrus mustache hid half of it, his smile was like a huge pan of sweet milk poured over one. Taft first caught Theodore Roosevelt’s attention when President McKinley selected him to head the Philippine Commission. In doing so, it was insinuated that he may be on the Supreme Court one day. Taft took the job, and even stayed on as Governor-General. When a SC spot did arise under Roosevelt, and he was offered it, Taft took his present job seriously, and he declined. The two men had been in correspondence since the Spanish-American War, and Roosevelt was impressed by Taft’s conduct. Roosevelt grew all the more impressed. Old man, he told Taft while the latter was weighing the court offer, whatever you decide to do I shall be absolutely satisfied, and shall believe not only that you have done what you thought right but actually was right. Roosevelt rarely granted such moral carte blanche to anyone. Only after Root resigned from the War Department did Roosevelt succeed in persuading Taft to come to the capital. In Washington, Taft became Roosevelts right-hand man and cabinet confidant, improving on Root—who had never gotten over his habit of talking back to the president. Taft is a splendid fellow and will be an aid and comfort in every way, the president told Ted. When Taft arrived in Washington in 1904, it seemed to insiders that the president was grooming him as an heir. This was true enough, as became evident. But more was involved. The personal relationship that developed between Roosevelt and Taft transcended politics. In a curious way Taft became for Roosevelt something of a younger brother. You cannot know how absolutely you have the trust and confidence of all our people whose trust and confidence are best worth having, the president declared when still trying to woo Taft to the capital. Indeed, as time went on, Roosevelt grew more and more convinced that Taft was his worthy successor. One element in my enjoyment was, as it always is with you, my unchristian delight in finding that you, whom I admire as much not only as any public man of the present but as any public man of the past, bar Lincoln and Washington-indeed, whom I suppose I admire more than any other public man, bar these two-get into just the same kind of hot water from time to time that I get into myself. The water is not as hot, and you never deserve to have gotten into it, as I am sorry to say I abundantly do; but it is a comfort to feel that the man I love and admire and respect encounters the difficulties that I encounter. Source: T.R., The Last Romantic: Pages 593-596

He also was a weight loss poster child, in the following years going from 350 to under 250

reminds me of how people made fun of Calvin Coolidge because of his silence; when he died a woman who heard about the news asked how could they be so sure.

Printed on demand by Printify. Ships from the US or UK depending on location.

This shirt is made from responsibly sourced materials and printed using sustainable practices. To care for your shirt, machine wash cold inside-out with like colors and tumble dry low. Do not iron directly on the print.