How to Address the President

Until you can whistle "Hail to the Chief" with any degree of ease, prepare to greet the president of the United States with a handshake.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Stand when you hear "The Star-Spangled Banner" (the U.S. national anthem), which is always played at the occasion of the president's appearance.

2. Rise when the president enters the room, if you are not already standing.

3. Address the president as Mr. President or Ms. President when speaking to him or her.

4. Address all correspondence to The President of the United States of America, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, 20500.

5. Say "the president" or "the president of the United States" when introducing the president to others.

6. Put out your right hand and shake his or her proffered one.

Tips & Warnings

• Ex-presidents get to retain their titles forever, so when you meet a past president, use the same form of address as you would with a current one.
• If the president is a married man, his wife, the first lady, is addressed as Ms. or Mrs. followed by her own last name (be it her maiden or married name).
• Heavy security, courtesy of the Secret Service, surrounds the president at all times.

[jennablack]

on 2/18/2009 Thanks for the tip about presidents keeping their titles... it seems that gets forgotten.

[MammaMedea]

on 9/13/2008 I'm sorry but I won't be meeting the President anytime soon becuse I don't want to get crushed by the Secret Service when I sucker punch him.

[klezmire]

on 6/18/2007 It seems that the second time a reporter refers to a president, he/she may revert to a formal surname address (Mr. Bush, for example.) From Fox News to The New York Times, reporting on Bush often refers to the current President as Mr. Bush, rather than President Bush.

[klezmire]

on 6/18/2007 Why do NPR reporters often refer to the sitting president as Mr. Bush (as in the case of reporting Mr. Bush's recent trip to Albania)?

[werdy_nerdy]

on 3/25/2007 My understanding is that the tradition is that the president is called "Mr. President" - and that is as formal as it gets. There is no "his honor" or anything.