Lincoln Tops Presidential Greatness Survey, Trump Rated Lowest by Experts
The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey rated and ranked all presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden based on a scale of 0-100 for their overall greatness.
Conducted online via Qualtrics from November 15 to December 31, 2023, it included current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, and other scholars who had published peer-reviewed academic research in key related scholarly journals or academic presses. Out of 525 respondents, 154 usable responses were received, resulting in a 29.3% response rate.
The top rankings remained relatively stable with Abraham Lincoln at the top with a 93.87 rating, followed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt at 90.83, George Washington at 90.32, and Theodore Roosevelt at 78.58. Significant changes included Barack Obama rising 9 places to the 7th position with a rating of 73.8 and Andrew Jackson falling 12 places to the 21st with a rating of 54.7. Donald Trump rated the lowest at 10.92, just below James Buchanan at 16.71.
The survey also examined the rankings based on partisan and ideological lines, revealing that partisanship and ideology did not make a major difference overall, but there were a few distinctions. For example, Republicans and Conservatives ranked George Washington as the greatest president, while Democrats and Liberals ranked Abraham Lincoln highest.
The methodology of the survey ensured that responses where the participant did not confirm their agreement to participate were dropped, and the same was done if a respondent completed the survey twice. The results represent the analyzed responses for the questions where answers were provided.
The most notable findings from the 2024 survey include:
- Abraham Lincoln remained the greatest president according to scholars, with a rating of 93.87.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt moved up to the second position with a rating of 90.83.
- Barack Obama rose 9 places from 2015 to the 7th position with a rating of 73.8.
- Donald Trump was rated as the least great president with a rating of 10.92.
- The survey revealed some ideological distinctions; Republicans and Conservatives ranked George Washington as the greatest president, while Democrats and Liberals gave the top spot to Abraham Lincoln.
