How Tall Is Paul Ryan And 2016 Presidential Hopefuls, Does It Matter?
How tall is the new Speaker of the House, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, and other notable politicians such as Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump?
Since this is a big political year, voters are considering many candidates, both Democrat and Republicans. On top of that, on Thursday, the House of Representatives elected a new Speaker who will replace the outgoing Speaker, John Boehner.
During the historic change of power Thursday, many may have been wondering how tall is Paul Ryan. He looks pretty tall on TV, and he is — at six feet one inch and a slim frame, he seems to tower over everyone around him. Despite coming from a small district in South Central Wisconsin, Ryan gained national attention when he was Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick in the 2012 Presidential campaign.
With his dark looks, clear blue eyes, and friendly demeanor, Paul Ryan certainly makes a great first impression. But in this political season, let’s see how he compares to other notable politicians of both parties.
During the GOP debate, there was a clear difference in height, and viewers may have been thinking how tall is Donald Trump, Jeb Bush or Carly Fiorina. So let’s take a look and see just how tall these men and women are.
It is obvious that the tallest of the bunch is former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush. He stands at six feet, three inches tall, and leads the Republican hopefuls. Donald Trump is hot on his heels at six feet, two inches tall, and has a bigger frame than Bush or Ryan. With wider shoulders, Trump makes quite an impression when he walks into a room, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said on the Fox News talk show, Outnumbered, Thursday morning. Ben Carson, who leads some national polls now, is six feet tall.
In case you’re thinking this is a bunch of nonsense, there’s actually people who have studied this issue in the past. In an article published in the Leadership Quarterly, in the heat of the 2012 Presidential campaign, with the controversial title, “Tall claims? Sense and nonsense about the importance of height of U.S. presidents,” a group of Dutch researchers studied election results in the U.S. since 1789.
According to Psychology Today, eleven elections were not part of the study because of “no rival candidates, the candidates did not differ in height, or height data were unavailable.”
The study found that after reviewing the heights of the elected presidents and that of the average male population at the time of the election, only seven U.S. Presidents were shorter than the average male height. President James Madison was the shortest at five feet, four inches tall, and President Abraham Lincoln was the tallest at six feet, four inches tall, an entire foot taller than Madison.
Interestingly, in more modern Presidential elections, how tall a candidate is seems to be even more important, according to the study. This may suggest that ever since the famous, first televised debate between President John F. Kennedy and President Richard Nixon, television has played a larger role in determining who is elected.
So how tall were JFK and Richard Nixon? Kennedy was six feet, while Nixon was indeed shorter, at five feet, 11-inches tall. Kennedy won the debate and the election.
Other notable former Presidents who are on the tall end are Bill Clinton at six feet, two inches tall, George W. Bush at six feet tall, his father, President George H.W. Bush, is six feet, two inches tall. As far as the current Democratic candidates go, how tall is Hillary Clinton? The former Secretary of State is five feet, seven inches tall, while her main opponent, Bernie Sanders, is six feet tall, even though he looks shorter.
Despite popular belief to the contrary, height does matter in presidential elections and politics. What do you think?
[Photo by Mark Wilson / Getty Images]
