Donald Trump Ranks Himself as Greatest US President Ever

The chart, published to Trump’s account on Thursday, categorizes commanders-in-chief into tiers ranging from Great and Near Great to Failures. Trump takes up the highest tier entirely by himself, whereas Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt, Washington, and Lincoln are assigned to the subsequent tier down.

The social media post closely resembles a presidential ranking published in LIFE magazine in November 1948, which was compiled by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. by surveying 55 historians. Trump’s version retains most of Schlesinger’s original groupings while adding a standalone category for himself and placing former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Jimmy Carter among the Failures.

Contrasting Historians Rankings and Survey Results

Presidential historians sharply disagree with Trump’s self-assessment. Justin Vaughn, who serves as a political science professor at Coastal Carolina University alongside being a co-creator of the Presidential Greatness Project, pointed out that this personal ranking conflicts with surveys of experts carried out over the past several years.

In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project survey of 154 academics, Lincoln ranked first, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. Trump finished last in that same survey, receiving a score of 10.92 out of 100, while Lincoln topped the list with an average score of 93.87.

A separate Siena University poll conducted in 2022 with 141 presidential scholars ranked Trump third-to-last, ahead of Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan. In categories specifically evaluating integrity and intelligence in the Siena study, Trump ranked dead last out of all 45 presidents.

Vaughn noted that the low academic ratings span political affiliations. When you look at statistics from Republican respondents versus Democratic ones, even Republicans rate Trump poorly, Vaughn said.

Political Standing Among Republican Voters

While historians place Trump near the bottom of their lists, his standing among Republican voters continues to surpass past GOP presidents. Based on findings from an SSRS-administered CNN poll, 53 percent of Republicans identified Trump as their most admired Republican president, whereas Ronald Reagan was chosen by 18 percent.

Trump’s chart omits several prominent figures, including Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. The absence of Reagan draws particular attention given his decades-long status as the modern Republican standard-bearer, a position increasingly challenged by Trump’s dominance within the party.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle addressed the legacy discussions surrounding the former president. President Trump is solely focused on fighting every day to deliver the strong, safe, and prosperous country that we all deserve, Ingle stated. The only legacy President Trump is concerned with is making America greater than ever before.

Ingle added, When all is said and done this President will undoubtedly go down as the most successful and consequential president in modern American history,

Barbara Perry, a professor specializing in presidential studies at the University of Virginia, noted that long-term legacy evaluations often shift over time. Americans tend to view former presidents through a favorable lens over time, Perry said, adding that leader rankings can change over decades as legacies are reconsidered.