History usually gets it right over time. Usually!

Every Presidents Day, Historians come out with the list of ranking all the Presidents. The bad news for the current President is that he is dead last behind the likes of Richard Nixon (Backstabbing the country by dealing with the South Vietnamese before the 1968 election, Watergate and Resignation), Warren Harding (Teapot Dome and the perception of being the first Amiable Dunce to occupy the White House), George W. Bush (two unnecessary wars and the great recession), Herbert Hoover (the Great Depression and the perception, at times unfair, he did not do enough to fight it), and James Buchanan (The President who did nothing when the Southern States started to secede from the union). President Trump has to have made quite a miserable impression with academia if he is behind even these predecessors. Is this a fair assessment. Time will tell. If it is found that there was collusion and obstruction-treasonous activity conducted with the Russians, it will be. Over time, history has a way of balancing things out. While George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt have pretty much cornered the market on the top three spots in recent polling, ranking our Presidents have been fairly fluid. John F. Kennedy was regarded as a God-like figure after his assassination. Historical analysis and retrospection have brought him down a couple of notches. In contrast, despite the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson is getting more recognition for the domestic legacy he left behind. Harry Truman and John Adams were once regarded as mediocre Presidents. History has been kinder to both leaders. Again, in contrast, Presidents like Bill Clinton and Andrew Jackson, despite their strengths, have slipped. Even historians recognize character defects like infidelity (Clinton) and genocide (Jackson and Native Americans). President Obama is currently ranked number 12. His stewardship of the country following the Great Recession, the Affordable Care Act, and the catching of Osama Bin Laden will probably keep in the top 15 for a while. Only time will tell. History usually gets it right over time. Usually!


https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/19/presidential-rankings-survey-trump-417103