Obama is the worst president in 70 years, says America


President Obama is the worst commander-in-chief since World War II, according to a plurality of Americans.
In a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday, 33 percent of voters said Obama is the worst president since at least the 1940s. (The question used the end of World War II as its cutoff.) George W. Bush came in a close second with 28 percent, followed by Richard Nixon at 13 percent.
Now, the poll should be taken with a little grain of salt. Recent presidents are expected to stand out on a subjective ranking encompassing many decades because of their temporal proximity. How many respondents weren't even born when Carter ran the White House? Hence, though Obama is named the worst president of the bunch, he's also named the fourth-best.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That said, the poll is still a brutal one for the president. Fifty-three percent of voters disapprove of his job performance — and a 45 percent plurality say the nation would be better off had Mitt Romney won the 2012 election.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling