Dear Dr. Scribblerprez:
How long does it take after a president is out of office for placement in the list of presidents from the best to the worst? Who makes that decision?
Eileen Gregg
Dear Eileen:
A president does not need to be out of office to be ranked. Two respected organizations made best-to-worst presidential rankings in 2018. Both ranked Donald Trump with his predecessors.
Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt ranked at the top in both surveys. Lancasterâs James Buchanan ranked 43rd â next to worst â in both. And Trump was down there with him.
The American Political Science Association surveyed 200 political scientists. They rated Trump last among 44 U.S. presidents, just below Buchanan. A poll of 157 presidential scholars by Siena College in Loudonville, New York, ranked Trump 42nd, just above Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.