President Donald Trump is not afraid to talk himself up – but presidential historians don’t think he’s so great.
Just in time for Presidents’ Day, a survey of 170 presidential historians puts Trump in dead last place – behind even James Buchanan, whom many historians blame for failing to stop the Civil War.
Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness survey, conducted by University of Houston professor Brandon Rottinghaus and Boise State University professor Justin S. Vaughn, polled current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association and asked them to grade each president.
Trump’s first time on the list knocked Buchanan out of last place. President Barack Obama jumped up ten places in rank since the last survey was conducted in 2014.
Ranking recent presidents
- Donald Trump – 44th
- Barack Obama – 8th
- George W. Bush – 30th
- Bill Clinton – 13th
- George H.W. Bush – 17th
- Ronald Reagan – 9th