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Trump is the 3rd best president in usa history
Executive summary
Claims that “Trump is the 3rd best president in U.S. history” conflict with available expert rankings and public polls: multiple historian surveys place Donald Trump near or at the bottom of presidential rankings (e.g., scoring about 10.9/100 and finishing last in a 2024 scholars’ survey) [1] [2]. Some public-opinion polls or partisan samples show that segments of Republicans name Trump among the best—one YouGov/Economist snapshot in 2021 found 13% of respondents overall (and larger shares of Republicans later) naming Trump as the best—so public perceptions differ sharply from expert historian rankings [3].
1. What expert historians say: consistently near the bottom
Scholarly surveys designed to measure “presidential greatness” repeatedly rank Donald Trump among the worst presidents historically: the Presidential Greatness Project’s 2024 edition averaged Trump's score at about 10.92 out of 100 and placed him at the bottom [1], and a 2024 survey of presidential historians similarly put Trump last, with an average just under 11 points [2]. The Guardian reported that in that academic ranking Trump “finished 45th and rock bottom” behind widely criticized historical presidencies [4]. Siena College’s expert polls also include Trump among the bottom five in their multi-decade expert survey [5].
2. What some Republicans and partisan polls say: a very different picture
Political and public-opinion polling often diverges from expert academic rankings. An Economist/YouGov snapshot cited by YouGov in 2021 showed Donald Trump placed third by respondents overall at 13% (with much higher placement among Republicans), and later GOP surveys shifted to name Trump the best by large shares of Republican respondents—demonstrating a partisan reappraisal even if scholars do not concur [3]. The Post and Courier also notes Republican scholars sometimes rated Trump as worst or at best third worst, underscoring divisions even within partisan groups of experts [6].
3. Why experts and publics differ: criteria and time horizons
Historians and political scientists rate presidents on long-term institutional effects, leadership in crises, policy outcomes, and constitutional norms; those metrics produce scores that placed Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington at the top and Trump among the lowest in several expert polls [1] [5] [4]. Public polls reflect contemporary impressions, media coverage, and partisan loyalty—factors that can elevate a recent or polarizing president in rankings among their supporters even when academic scores remain low [3].
4. Trump’s own reaction and political messaging
Donald Trump publicly reacted to a TV commentator ranking him “third-best,” saying he was “extremely angry” about being placed behind Washington and Lincoln; that anecdote and his remarks have circulated in media coverage showing he and his supporters actively contest low historical appraisals [7] [8]. Political messaging from the White House highlights recent policy wins and claims of success—statements designed to shape contemporary public approval even as scholarly assessments track differently [9] (available sources do not mention whether such messaging changes historians’ ratings).
5. Recent polls on approval vs. historical rankings
Contemporary approval polling shows Trump’s popularity fluctuating; The New York Times and poll aggregators reported approval measures in the 30–50% range at various points in 2024–2025, with some recent polls indicating declines and others showing short-lived peaks—these approval trends inform public perception but do not translate directly into long-term greatness rankings by scholars [10] [11]. Forbes and other outlets document the gap between political claims about “best polling numbers” and aggregate poll data [11].
6. Takeaway: “3rd best” is a partisan perception, not the scholarly consensus
If your statement is meant as an objective historical ranking, available scholarly sources do not support it: historians’ and presidential scholars’ surveys consistently rank Trump near or at the bottom of modern lists [1] [4] [2] [5]. If the claim reflects partisan opinion polls or the views of specific Republican respondents, those polls do show Trump rated highly by some Republican voters in recent years [3]. The two perspectives coexist: strong partisan public support versus poor scholarly evaluations based on institutional and historical criteria [1] [3].
Limitations and final note: the evidence here comes from expert surveys, scholarly commentary, mainstream media reporting, and public-opinion polls included among the provided sources; available sources do not mention longitudinal shifts in historians’ rankings after 2025 beyond the cited 2024–2025 reporting, nor do they include any single authoritative “official” ranking that can override competing surveys [1] [2] [5].