Trump ranks as worst president ever, according to actual, non-fake news experts
Though many of us already suspected that Donald Trump is the worst president in U.S. history, it’s nice to have political experts to back us up. According to the 2018 Presidents and Executive Politics Presidential Greatness Survey, Trump is the worst president of all time. The survey, published in The New York Times, asked 170 experts from the American Political Science Association to rank each president’s greatness on a scale of 0-100.
And Trump came in dead last. He received an average of just 12.3 points out of 100. Trump was even rated worse than disgraced President Richard Nixon, who came in at number 33.
The top seven presidents remained unchanged from 2014, with Abraham Lincoln topping the list. George Washington came in second, followed by Franklin D Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower. It’s worth mentioning that Barack Obama jumped 10 spots to number eight and Bill Clinton dropped five places to 13th place.
But does Trump have room for improvement? Well, considering he came in last, there’s no where to go but up. However, he has a long way to go.
"Trump’s initial rating places him in an ignominious category, but dozens of presidents have had slow starts and have course corrected to improve their public esteem," professors Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin S. Vaughn said. "Beyond his reputation or ranking, Donald Trump’s very presidency may alter perceptions of presidential legacies as his unique approach to the office continues to surprise."
One area where Trump did come out on top was in the “most polarizing” section, in which researchers asked experts to list the top five presidents they found most divisive.
Here’s to hoping for sudden (and drastic) improvement.