--- title: Donald Trump Last in Presidential Greatness: Historians description: Just in time for Presidents' Day, a new survey of historians puts President Donald Trump in dead last place. Barack Obama is eighth. canonical: https://time.com/5165686/donald-trump-last-place-presidential-greatness/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-19T23:11:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:20:50.608Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Ranks Last in 'Presidential Greatness,' According to Historians og:description: Obama moved up to eighth place og:url: https://time.com/5165686/donald-trump-last-place-presidential-greatness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt206d0ab0236f09bd/6989283097cdff52cf6b4627/donald-trump-least-great-president.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4848 og:image:height: 2727 og:image:alt: President Trump Addresses The Nation In His First State Of The Union Address To Joint Session Of Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Ranks Last in 'Presidential Greatness,' According to Historians twitter:description: Obama moved up to eighth place twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt206d0ab0236f09bd/6989283097cdff52cf6b4627/donald-trump-least-great-president.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Ranks Last in 'Presidential Greatness,' According to Historians > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8e4b9614-f7d8-4ff9-9606-ce7b1fb34d50&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Feb 19, 2018 11:11 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald J. Trump smiles during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress. U.S. President Donald J. Trump smiles during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress.Photo by Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Feb 19, 2018 11:11 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5165488/donald-trump-gun-background-checks/) is not afraid to talk himself up – but presidential historians don’t think he’s so great. Just in time for [Presidents’ Day](http://time.com/money/4219493/presidents-day-sales-best-deals/), a survey of 170 presidential historians puts Trump in dead last place – behind even James Buchanan, whom many historians blame for failing to stop the Civil War. [Presidents & Executive Politics Presidential Greatness survey,](https://sps.boisestate.edu/politicalscience/files/2018/02/Greatness.pdf) conducted by University of Houston professor Brandon Rottinghaus and Boise State University professor Justin S. Vaughn, polled current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association and asked them to grade each president. Trump’s first time on the list knocked Buchanan out of last place.[ President Barack Obama](http://time.com/5160791/obama-florida-school-shooting/) jumped up ten places in rank since the last survey was conducted in 2014. President Abraham Lincoln topped the list once again with George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson rounding out the top five, similar to the 2014 survey. The findings were relatively consistent across political party affiliation and ideology, as well. Trump, Buchanan and William Henry Harrison ranked the lowest. The survey also found that Trump was considered the “most polarizing” president. He also he ranked in the bottom five among all categories of respondents including Republican, Democrats, independents, liberals, conservatives and moderates. A sampling of the results below: ## Greatest presidents 1. Abraham Lincoln 2. George Washington 3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt 4. Theodore Roosevelt 5. Thomas Jefferson ## Least great presidents 1. Donald Trump 2. James Buchanan 3. William Henry Harrison 4. Franklin Pierce 5. Andrew Johnson ## Ranking recent presidents * Donald Trump – 44th * Barack Obama – 8th * George W. Bush – 30th * Bill Clinton – 13th * George H.W. 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