LBJ was a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, serial philanderer, who pushed through the Civil Rights Act while crowing about how this would have the n____s voting Democrat for the next 100 years. And was owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Texas oil bidness.

Nixon was all of those plus every bit as vindictive as Trump, if not more so. Nixon set the bar for making lists of enemies and using the power of his office to punish them, particularly subjecting them to repeated IRS audits. And it was widely known that he wanted to find a way around the 22nd Amendment so he could serve more than 2 terms. There's a reason why Alan Moore's Watchmen universe featured President for life Nixon.

That's just two from my lifetime. Let alone all who came before them.
I can do this with all of them. And this is just what we know!

This shit is not new. Power corrupts, has been a maxim since the beginning of history. There have been those who have tried to make it better for thousands of years. How has that worked out?