A closer look
President John Quincy Adams allegedly kept a pet alligator in a bathtub at the White House, delighting in terrifying his unsuspecting political guests when they went to use the restroom. Marquis de Lafayette gifted the reptile to the president in 1825, and Adams apparently thought an apex predator was an entirely reasonable companion for the leader of the free world. Modern historians fiercely debate whether this story is entirely factual or just a popular myth, but it remains heavily circulated because it perfectly captures the unhinged eccentricity of early American politicians. Frankly, keeping a swamp monster in the executive bathroom feels far more honest and straightforward than the vast majority of political maneuvering that happens in Washington today
