It’s not the job of an American president to be popular. What’s important is that he (and maybe someday she) functions as a representative of the nation, both in foreign affairs and at home; serves at the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; vetoes or signs bills; oversees the key departments of the government; and ensures that laws passed by the legislative branch are carried out — among other things. If along the way, people generally approve of the way the president discharges these duties, then popularity will follow — but it should never be the goal.
Throughout our nation’s history, we have had presidents both popular and unpopular and somewhere in-between. With the benefit of hindsight, though, the way our chief executives are perceived by later generations tends to evolve. Various experts and groups of experts — primarily historians and political scientists — assess presidents from time to time, judging not popularity but their efficiency and success at fulfilling their presidential duties, as well as their legacies.
To determine the worst (and best) U.S. presidents, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the latest such assessment, a ranking called the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, conducted by Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, and Justin S. Vaughn, an associate professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University.
Conducted between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, 2023, the survey is based on some 154 responses from, to quote its authors, “current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, which is the foremost organization of social science experts in presidential politics, as well as scholars who had recently published peer-reviewed academic research in key related scholarly journals or academic presses.”
Scroll down for the list of the worst (and best) presidents, according to political scientists.
Respondents were asked to rate each president on a scale of 1 to 100, with the maximum score (which no one achieved) indicating true greatness. For the most part, the results echoed those of two previous surveys conducted by the same professors, published in 2015 and 2018, but there were several notable exceptions: Barack Obama rose from No. 16 in 2015 to No. 7 in the latest computation. Ulysses S. Grant also climbed nine places, from No. 26 to No. 17. One president’s score plummeted, with Andrew Jackson descending from No. 9 to No. 21.
Abraham Lincoln held onto first place, the same position he occupied in the two previous surveys, with a score of 93.87. George Washington dropped from No. 2 to No. 3, with Franklin D. Roosevelt switching spots with him. Though his term in office is not yet finished, Joe Biden managed a respectable 14th place ranking, with a score of 62.66. The president given the lowest score by far was Donald Trump, who finished in 45th place, scoring 10.92. Interestingly, the self-described Republicans who responded to the survey rated him only slightly higher than the group as a whole, at No. 41 — but it’s entirely possible that in the future, as with some other presidents, his reputation will improve. (To see where Trump’s wife, Melania, stands among her peers, see America’s most popular first ladies.)
The survey also asked respondents who the next president to join Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt on Mt. Rushmore should be. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first choice by far, winning 65.4% of the votes, followed by Barack Obama with 11%.
45. Donald Trump
- Rating (2024): 10.92
44. James Buchanan
- Rating (2024): 16.71
43. Andrew Johnson
- Rating (2024): 21.56
42. Franklin Pierce
- Rating (2024): 24.6
41. William H. Harrison
- Rating (2024): 26.01
40. Warren G. Harding
- Rating (2024): 27.76
39. Millard Fillmore
- Rating (2024): 30.33
38. Zachary Taylor
- Rating (2024): 32.97
37. John Tyler
- Rating (2024): 32.99
36. Herbert Hoover
- Rating (2024): 34.08
35. Richard Nixon
- Rating (2024): 36.41
34. Calvin Coolidge
- Rating (2024): 39.38
33. Chester A. Arthur
- Rating (2024): 39.61
32. George W. Bush
- Rating (2024): 40.43
31. Benjamin Harrison
- Rating (2024): 40.64
30. James A. Garfield
- Rating (2024): 40.98
29. Rutherford B. Hayes
- Rating (2024): 41.15
28. Martin Van Buren
- Rating (2024): 45.46
27. Gerald Ford
- Rating (2024): 46.09
26. Grover Cleveland
- Rating (2024): 48.31
25. James K. Polk
- Rating (2024): 49.83
24. William McKinley
- Rating (2024): 51.23
23. William Howard Taft
- Rating (2024): 51.67
22. Jimmy Carter
- Rating (2024): 54.26
21. Andrew Jackson
- Rating (2024): 54.7
20. John Quincy Adams
- Rating (2024): 55.41
19. George H. W. Bush
- Rating (2024): 58.54
18. James Monroe
- Rating (2024): 60.15
17. Ulysses S. Grant
- Rating (2024): 60.93
16. Ronald Reagan
- Rating (2024): 61.62
15. Woodrow Wilson
- Rating (2024): 61.8
14. Joe Biden
- Rating (2024): 62.66 (tie)
13. John Adams
- Rating (2024): 62.66 (tie)
12. Bill Clinton
- Rating (2024): 66.42
11. James Madison
- Rating (2024): 67.16
10. John F. Kennedy
- Rating (2024): 68.37
9. Lyndon Johnson
- Rating (2024): 72.86
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Rating (2024): 73.73
7. Barack Obama
- Rating (2024): 73.8
6. Harry Truman
- Rating (2024): 75.34
5. Thomas Jefferson
- Rating (2024): 77.53
4. Theodore Roosevelt
- Rating (2024): 78.58
3. George Washington
- Rating (2024): 90.32
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Rating (2024): 90.32
1. Abraham Lincoln
- Rating (2024): 93.87
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