From Taft to Trump, here’s a look at presidents who have graced Hawaii’s shores

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - U.S. presidents have been visiting Hawaii for more than a century.

They come for number of reasons: political discourse, military evaluation and planning, economic development — and, of course, vacation.

On this President's Day, we wanted to take a look back at the many times the country's commander-in-chief has visited the Aloha State.

Let's begin with a trip that didn't happen.

President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, which approved the Annexation of Hawaii, on July 7, 1898. An assassin's bullet, fired at a festival in New York, halted the White House plan for McKinley to visit Hawaii during his second term.

In 1905, while on their way to Asia, then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft – along with President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth – visited the Hawaiian Islands.

Longworth was often the center of public and press attention; as such, she was given unparalleled access to political leaders and state functions, according to the book "Alice in Asia".

He didn't actually visit, but in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park into existence.

Prior to taking office in 1929, future U.S. President Herbert Hoover's schedule allowed him to visit Hawaii.

In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Pearl Harbor to meet with WWII military leaders.

After President Harry Truman left the White House, he and his wife Bess visited Hawaii in 1953.

On August 21, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the official proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as America's 50th state.

President John F. Kennedy was given many lei following his arrival at the Honolulu International Airport in 1963.

Richard Nixon was photographed eating poi at a luau in Hilo while on a campaign visit in 1960.

Crowds greeted President Lyndon B. Johnson as he arrived in Hawaii with top advisers for a summit conference with South Vietnamese leaders in 1966.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford addressed an audience at the University of Hawaii regarding the state's importance as a crossroad between the United States and other major Pacific nations.

The 1976 election was decided by the Aloha State's four electoral votes, awarding the presidency to Jimmy Carter.

President Ronald Reagan made remarks to the crowd that gathered during his arrival ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base in 1986.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush traveled to Pearl Harbor for the 50th Anniversary of the Japanese attack that plunged the U.S. into World War Two.

President Bill Clinton thanked veterans for their service while on the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in 1995.

In 2003, President George W. Bush stopped in Hawaii while on his way back from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

During his latest visit, President Barack Obama greeted Christmas carolers at his Lanikai vacation home. Obama, who grew up in Hawaii, frequently vacationed on Oahu during his time in office.

In November of 2017, before embarking on a high-stakes trip to Asia, President Donald Trump spent a whirlwind day on Oahu.

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