A new survey by Siena College shows that Donald Trump, former President, ranks near the bottom in a ranking U.S. presidents.
Since 1982, the Siena College Research Institute has published regular survey results ranking presidents. during the second year of the first term of a new president. The SCRI invited 141 historians, presidential scholars, and other academics into its survey. They were asked to grade former U.S. heads on 20 standards. These were then combined to create an overall ranking.
The institute has published seven surveys since 1982. five individuals have consistently ranked as the “best” presidentsAlthough their order has changed over time, they are still in the top five. Franklin Roosevelt ranked first this year, followed by George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson.
Four of the five “worst” presidents have also remained consistent across the seven surveys SCRI has released. In the two previous surveys, Donald Trump has been added.
Trump was ranked as the third-worst president in SCRI’s 2022 survey, ahead of Presidents James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson. Trump was also ranked as the third-worst president in the SCRI survey of 2018.
Trump’s overall score was low because of his poor ranking in many categories. Trump’s background before he became president, his executive appointments during his presidency, and his intelligence were his worst rankings.
Survey director Don Levy cautioned that “it is too early to say how history will ultimately rate Mr. Trump,” but noted that a third of academics participating in the survey this year said that Trump “contributed most of any president to weakening the office.”
This year also marked the debut of President Joe Biden being included in the survey results. Like Trump, Biden’s marks come with a caveat — because he’s still in office, it’s likely that his future actions in the White House will affect his score in upcoming surveys.
Biden was ranked 19th out of the 45 presidents listed in the surveyAccording to SCRI, he received high marks for his willingness and ability to compromise. Other recent presidents also fared better than Trump — Barack Obama ranked as the 11th best president in U.S. history, whereas George W. Bush ranked as 35th best (or, alternatively, the 11th worst).
The survey also asked academics for their opinions on the office president in a general sense. Nearly 7/10 respondents (69%) agreed. they believe the first woman president will be elected by the year 2032. When asked how the president should be elected, 63 percent said they believe it’s time to get rid of the Electoral College and adopt a popular vote model, while just 17 percent said they preferred to keep things the way they are.
