Who is the worst top ten president in the usa
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Executive summary
Historians and polls do not agree on a single “worst” top-ten U.S. president; contemporary expert surveys and journalistic tallies often place Donald Trump, James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson among the lowest-ranked presidents (multiple rankings show Trump at or near last place) [1] [2] [3]. Recent specialist surveys cited in news coverage put Trump at the bottom in a 2024/2025 expert tally with a score near 10.9/100, while public and partisan outlets offer competing top‑10 “worst” lists that include figures such as Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, Franklin Pierce and Joe Biden depending on criteria and audience [1] [4] [5].
1. Why “worst” is not a single objective label
“Worst” depends on method. Scholarly polls weigh leadership, crisis management, accomplishments and failures; public polls reflect current politics and partisanship. The Presidential Greatness/academic surveys have historically favored Lincoln at the top and Buchanan among the worst, but recent editions introduced Donald Trump and placed him at the bottom with a very low score (about 10.9) in the 2024/2025 specialist data cited by multiple outlets [1] [6]. By contrast, crowd‑ranked lists and opinion pieces name a wider mix — including Taylor, Harding, Pierce or even sitting presidents — depending on voters and editorial framing [4] [5].
2. What historians and expert projects show
Scholarly ranking projects — such as the Presidential Greatness Project and long‑running expert polls summarized on Wikipedia and by news organizations — tend to aggregate historians’ and political scientists’ judgments; those aggregated expert results in recent editions ranked Trump in the last position, scoring roughly 10.9/100 [1]. Publications summarizing multiple expert polls (U.S. News synthesized several major surveys) list Trump among the ten worst and note he is the only living president in many of those worst‑ten lists [3].
3. Public lists, partisan outlets and crowd rankings
Non‑academic lists vary widely. Popular or partisan outlets produce “top ten worst” lists that reflect editorial stance and audience values: The New Dealer ran a subjective top‑10 of worst presidents that includes less‑remembered figures like Zachary Taylor and focuses on different failings [4]. Ranker’s crowd rankings show community votes putting Trump, James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson high among the worst, but crowd results shift with who participates [5]. Opinion pieces and letters to editors sometimes name sitting presidents — for example, letters in local papers argued for Biden as “worst” — but these are individual perspectives rather than scholarly consensus [7].
4. Recent political context has reshaped rankings
The return of a former president to office and the polarized post‑2024 environment affected how both experts and the public score presidencies. Some polls and commentators argue Trump’s actions and rhetoric in a second term strengthened the case for ranking him worst-ever; a Guardian columnist and advocacy sites cite historian surveys that placed Trump at the bottom after his first term and argue his second term deepened concerns [8] [9]. At the same time, institutions like C‑SPAN postponed certain 2025 surveys because a returning president would make a “historical analysis” turn into current‑affairs punditry, showing methodological caution in the field [1].
5. Competing viewpoints and hidden agendas
Different lists reflect explicit agendas. Academic surveys aim for comparative historical judgment, but their respondents and weighting choices shape results. Advocacy groups and partisan outlets use “worst” rankings as political messaging: Democracy 21 and similar sites labeled Trump the worst and highlighted his false‑statement counts to support that claim [9]. Foreign or ideologically driven sites produce sharply different lists [10]. Crowd‑sourced rankings like Ranker mainly measure who is most disliked by an engaged online constituency, not historical impact [5].
6. How to interpret a “worst top‑ten” claim
If you ask “Who is the worst top‑ten president?” first define your criteria: expert scholarly consensus, contemporary public opinion, or partisan/opinion journalism. Expert polls referenced in recent reporting place Donald Trump at or near the very bottom of presidential rankings [1] [3]. Other reputable expert frameworks still consistently place James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson among the worst historically for their roles before and during the Civil War era [1] [2]. Popular lists can and do diverge from scholarly rankings [4] [5].
Limitations: available sources do not contain a single definitive, universally accepted “top‑10 worst” list; different methodologies produce different answers (noted across [4], [3], [5], p1_s8). Use the expert polls for historical judgment and popular lists for current political sentiment.