Trump Posts Self-Created Presidential Ranking, Putting Himself at the Top

President Donald Trump uploaded a chart to his Truth Social account that ranks U.S. presidents in five tiers: “The Greatest,” “Great,” “Near Great,” “Average,” “Below Average,” and “Failures.” Trump occupies the sole spot in “The Greatest.” The “Great” tier includes Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. “Near Great” lists Theodore Roosevelt; “Average” includes William McKinley and Bill Clinton; “Below Average” features Calvin Coolidge; and “Failures” groups Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, Warren Harding and Ulysses S. Grant. Several notable presidents—Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush—are absent from the chart.

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Trump’s chart mirrors the Life magazine ranking published in November 1948, which was based on a survey of 55 historians conducted by Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. That historic list placed Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson in the “great” category. Trump’s version retains most of those placements while adding a solitary “Greatest” tier for himself and relegating Democratic opponents to “Failures.” He also commissioned a “Presidential Walk of Fame” in the West Wing that includes plaques with partisan commentary.

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• A CNN-conducted poll of Republican voters found 53 % named Trump the Republican president they admire most, versus 18 % for Reagan and 8 % for Lincoln.

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• An Elon University poll reported 29 % of Republicans consider Trump the best president in U.S. history, ahead of Lincoln (25 %) and Washington (14 %).

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• The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project survey of historians ranked Lincoln first, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson; Trump placed last, while Reagan ranked 16th.

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These characterizations have drawn criticism from historians who argue they depart from the traditionally neutral tone of presidential profiles.

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• Trump’s self-ranking places him at the pinnacle of presidential greatness, while the 2024 historians’ survey ranks him at the bottom.

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• Polls of Republican voters show strong admiration for Trump, yet broader public opinion and scholarly assessments remain overwhelmingly negative.

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• No comprehensive explanation has been offered for the omission of several historically prominent presidents, leaving a gap in understanding the criteria behind the chart.

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• “John Kennedy—he was a great guy, handsome. He was the second-most good-looking president, they say.” — Donald Trump, president

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• “The corruption and damage to long-term U.S. institutions and reputation are far beyond anything we’ve seen before,” — Michael Bailey, a political scientist at Georgetown, recently

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No forthcoming events or scheduled releases related to the ranking have been announced.

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