Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. President Donald Trump is at it again, and this time he’s ranking the presidents. Because, you know, that’s exactly what we need – Trump’s expert opinion on who was a great president and who wasn’t. He shared an image on social media that declared himself “the greatest” president, better than even George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Bless their hearts, I’m sure they’re thrilled to be outranked by Trump.
I mean, come on, where did this list come from? It’s not like Trump has a team of historians working for him or anything. The list has a bunch of problems, beyond just putting a president with a mid-30s approval rating at the top. And for a president who has growing problems with his conservative base, his posting of this list could confirm some of their reservations about him.
Let’s run through the issues. Trump seems to think that FDR, Wilson, and Jackson are “great” presidents, which is just…interesting. I mean, FDR was the father of the New Deal and oversaw the greatest expansion of the federal government in US history. Wilson might engender even more distaste on the right for presiding over his own expansion of government. And Jackson is one of two presidents Democrats used to name their fundraising dinners after, though they moved away from that due to his owning of slaves and treatment of Native Americans.
And then there’s Coolidge, who is considered a vastly underappreciated president on the right, and even a conservative icon. He’s lionized for his fierce opposition to big government progressivism. But according to Trump’s list, he’s just “below average”. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.
Andrew Johnson is often considered among America’s worst presidents, owing in large part to his incompetent handling of Reconstruction after the Civil War. He was also impeached. But Trump thinks he’s just “average”. McKinley, on the other hand, has been demoted in Trump’s mind. Trump used to think he was a “great” president, but now he’s just “average”. And Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union to victory in the Civil War, is a “failure” according to Trump. Somewhere in Atlanta, a producer thought this sounded terrifying, I’m sure.
The list also has some notable omissions. There’s no Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and neither of the Presidents Bush. Why might this be? Well, the graphic appears substantially similar to one that appeared in Life magazine in 1948. The only differences are that Trump has been added in a new “greatest” category, Bill Clinton has been added to “average”, and Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Jimmy Carter have been added to “failures”.
In conclusion, Trump’s list of presidents is a joke. It’s a mess, and it’s clear that he didn’t put much thought into it. But hey, at least it’s entertaining. And who knows, maybe Trump will start a new trend – presidential rankings based on gut feelings and personal biases. Wouldn’t that be something? As I finish my coffee, I’m left wondering what other surprises Trump has in store for us. One thing’s for sure, folks – with Trump, you can always count on a good laugh.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
