George Washington is the only president who never blamed the previous administration for his troubles.

This is a modern, anonymous political quip that plays on a historical fact: George Washington, as the first U.S. president, had no predecessor in the office. The line is typically used in commentary about partisan “blame games,” especially during transitions when incoming administrations attribute problems to those who came before. It circulates as a piece of folk humor rather than as a documented remark from a particular speech, article, or public figure, and it is generally presented as an aphorism rather than tied to a specific event in Washington’s presidency.

A wry, modern political aphorism: because George Washington was the first U.S. president, there was no “previous administration” to fault. The joke points to a recurring habit in politics—new leaders attributing inherited problems to predecessors—while implicitly praising accountability and self-reliance. By invoking Washington’s near-mythic status, the line also satirizes contemporary partisanship: it suggests that blaming predecessors has become so routine that only the uniquely situated first president could avoid it. The humor depends on historical structure rather than a documented remark by Washington, which is why it circulates as “Anonymous.”