Adjectives like best and worst or good and bad are subjective. Every four years, historians meet to release a survey ranking all the presidents in American history. Historians never label the top and bottom of the list as good or bad; they rank presidents based on their achievements, legacy and historical impact.
Success and failure may also be subjective on the surface, but one of the ways to measure success and failure among presidents is popularity, because the presidency derives its power from the people.
The American system of government is set up so that popular presidents have more political capital to get things done. Unpopular presidents struggle to achieve their agenda because, as the talking heads like to say, the political winds are blowing against them.
Donald Trump has tried to put the presidency above the American people and reverse the power dynamic. Instead of the president responding to the American people, Trump wants the American people to respond to the presidency.
By attempting to create what historian Arthur Schlesinger called an imperial presidency, Trump has provoked a visceral retaliation by the majority of the American people, sinking his presidency to an all-time low in public opinion.
The best presidencies prepare for success before they take power. Trump did the opposite and built a presidency that was destined to fail.
Below, let’s look at some examples of Trump’s failed presidency.
