By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-28 02:36:34 | Updated at 2026-09-05 00:49:43
1 week ago
President Donald Trump released his ranking of United States presidents on Thursday, with himself at the top of the list.
The president posted the graphic to Truth Social, referring to a CNN news segment reporting that a majority of Republicans admire Trump over leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. According to the poll, 53% of Republicans said they admire Trump most while 18% chose Reagan and just 8% favor Lincoln.
Trump place himself in a tier of his own labeled “The Greatest.”
Founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were ranked below Trump as “Great,” along with Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Andrew Jackson.
Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland, John Adams and James K. Polk were all labeled “Near Great.” (RELATED: What Do Trump’s 2024 Swing Voters Want From Him Now?)
One X user indicated that the image shared by Trump closely resembles a 1948 ranking of United States presidents according to 55 scholars posted in Life Magazine. If so, it would explain the absence of the majority of presidents from the second half of the 20th century, including Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and both Bushes.
Either Trump or his intern copied Arthur M Schlesinger Sr’s 1948 Life Magazine Presidential Ratings article from November 1st 1948.
Based on 55 historians, journalists, and political scientist averages. So you’re looking at mid century modern liberalism ranking. Plus Carter,… https://t.co/49KauTy0gd pic.twitter.com/uQ5MGJBW6N
There are, however, a few modern presidents who did not appear in the Life Magazine ranking but do appear in Trump’s. Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter are all labeled as “Failures” (along with presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding), while Bill Clinton was labeled “Average.”
Trump’s approval has fallen in recent months, hitting a record low in August. According to recent YouGov data, just 33% of Americans “strongly or somewhat approve” of the president while 62% disapprove, giving Trump a job approval rating of -29. At the same point in his first term, Trump had a -10 approval rating, while Biden had a -17.
