Key Points
- Survey Results: President Biden ranked 14th and former President Trump ranked last in a recent expert survey on presidential greatness.
- Expert Panel: The survey was conducted by members of the Presidents and Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.
- Partisan Differences: Partisan variations were observed, particularly in the rankings of Obama and Biden.
In a recent survey conducted by a panel of experts specializing in the American presidency, President Biden was ranked as the 14th-best president, while his likely opponent in the 2024 presidential race, former President Donald Trump, found himself at the bottom of the list.
The survey, known as the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, was conducted from November 15 to December 31 and included current and recent members of the Presidents and Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, the leading organization of social science experts in presidential politics.
Abraham Lincoln was ranked as America’s greatest president by the experts, with Biden positioned ahead of Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Ulysses S. Grant. Former President Barack Obama saw an improvement in his ranking, landing at no. 7, eight spots higher than the previous year.
Conversely, Trump received the lowest ranking in the survey, placing below James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, and William Henry Harrison. Notably, partisan differences were evident in the rankings, particularly regarding Obama and Biden, with Democrat respondents generally rating them higher than Republicans.