Historians rank Trump last in 'presidential greatness' survey
The ghosts of James Buchanan and William Henry Harrison are feeling pretty good right now.
Professors from the University of Houston and Boise State University sent current and recent members of the presidential politics section of the American Political Science Association a survey on presidential greatness, asking 170 historians to grade each president. In bad news for President Trump, he came in dead last, bumping Buchanan — faulted for bringing the United States to the brink of civil war — up a spot. Abraham Lincoln came out on top, followed by George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson, while Harrison, who died of pneumonia just 31 days into his term, joined Trump and Buchanan at the bottom.
The survey was last conducted in 2014, and this year, Barack Obama moved up 10 places, coming in eighth. Out of other modern presidents, George W. Bush ranked 30th, Bill Clinton 13th, George H.W. Bush 17th, and Ronald Reagan ninth. There was some consensus with Trump: He ranked in the bottom five for Republican, Democratic, independent, liberal, conservative, and moderate historians, and he did win one category: "Most polarizing."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Political cartoons for December 6Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a pardon for Hernandez, word of the year, and more
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump tightens restrictions for work visasSpeed Read The length of work permits for asylum seekers and refugees has been shortened from five years to 18 months
-
Supreme Court revives Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read Texas Republicans can use the congressional map they approved in August at President Donald Trump’s behest
-
Boat strike footage rattles some lawmakersSpeed Read ‘Disturbing’ footage of the Sept. 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat also shows the second strike that killed two survivors who were clinging to the wreckage
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
