Trump declares himself greatest US president; academic surveys rank him last
Trump posted a ranking placing himself alone in a 'greatest' category, but presidential historians and expert surveys show near-universal disagreement.
What happened
Donald Trump shared a social media post last week declaring himself the 'greatest' US president ever, ranking himself above Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George Washington. The image appears adapted from a 1948 Life magazine article, with a 'greatest' category added retroactively and recent presidents Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama inserted into a 'failures' category. The most recent Presidential Greatness Project survey of 154 academics ranked Trump dead last with an average rating of 10.92 out of 100, below James Buchanan. A 2022 Siena University poll of 141 presidential scholars ranked Trump third-to-last overall and 45th out of 45 in both 'integrity' and 'intelligence' categories.
Context
Trump has not been previously ranked by presidential historians as among America's greatest leaders. Unlike Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington, Trump orchestrated an insurrection, was impeached, and was convicted of felonies related to hush-money payments. The gap between Trump's self-assessment and academic rankings across multiple independent surveys underscores a fundamental disagreement about his presidential record. Notably, Republican respondents in the surveys also rated Trump poorly, indicating the low ranking is not primarily attributable to partisan bias from Democratic academics. Scholars cite his role in the January 6 insurrection and promotion of election fraud claims as undermining constitutional governance, factors they expect to weigh against him in historical assessment.
What's disputed
Trump's White House spokesperson predicted he will be remembered as 'the most successful and consequential president in modern American history,' contradicting academic assessments. Scholars also disagree about whether historical rankings of presidents can shift substantially over time, though one expert noted ex-presidents generally benefit from retrospective reassessment.