The List Of Worst Presidents Was Released And There Is No Surprise Who Is At The Bottom

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

PUBLISHED Feb. 20 2018, 12:47 p.m. ET

UPDATED Oct. 9 2018, 12:44 a.m. ET

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Source: getty
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Oh wait, you never heard of the test? Well, it's not like the results are broadcast on live television in an American Idol style competition - it's a little less dramatic than that.

Here's how it's done: a number of experts from the American Political Science Association get together, this year, 170 of them, to give presidents a ranking from 0-100 based on a number of different scholars.

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The scholars were divided up from a number of different political backgrounds: Democratic, Independent, and Republican. The aggregate of their scores were put together to minimize bias towards presidents. 

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Topping the list were Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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The top seven commander in chiefs haven't changed since the survey was last conducted in 2014.

However, there is a new president ranked dead last in the list, and even though he's new to the party and has only been at the job a little over a year, he made a yuge impression.

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GettyImages
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That's right, Donald Trump is officially the worst president of all time. Although there probably won't be many people surprised by the news.

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What's interesting to note is that in the New York Times featured survey, Republican scholars still worked Trump as a bottom five president: he came in at number 40 for the Republicans. Interestingly, Republicans ranked Obama way higher than the Donald at number 16.

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Overall, Mr. 44 broke the top 10 best presidents according to the survey, and Bill Clinton waned in popularity. He dropped from number 8, four years ago, to number 13 now.

Trump's abysmal ranking isn't all bad news for the former reality TV star.

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According to professors involved in the survey, Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin S. Vaughn, there were plenty of instances in the past where presidents with very low rankings managed to improve their numbers over time.

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"Trump’s initial rating places him in an ignominious category, but dozens of presidents have had slow starts and have course corrected to improve their public esteem. Beyond his reputation or ranking, Donald Trump’s very presidency may alter perceptions of presidential legacies as his unique approach to the office continues to surprise."

So Trump's still got some hope left that he won't be the yugest mistake America's ever put into the Oval Office.

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As for his current standing, the internet isn't really all that surprised at where Trump's landed on the list.

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There are definitely going to be some people who want to rub Obama's 8th place ranking in Trump's face.

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But there are others out there who have called the ranking system, despite taking scholars from different political backgrounds, "idiotic."

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Others pointed out that presidents like Richard Nixon, who were appropriately placed on the survey, are a good indication of just how bad of a leader Trump really is.

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I mean, if you're ranking lower than Nixon...that can't be good.

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However, if you support a candidate, you're probably not going to believe anything bad said about them, something that Trump understands himself.

So this survey is maybe just another "preaching to the choir" moment when it comes to Trump's presidency. What do you think?

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