Adjectives like best and worst or good and bad are subjective. Every four years, historians come together to publish a survey ranking all the presidents in United States history. Historians never label the top and bottom of the list as good or bad; they rank presidents based on their accomplishments, legacy, and historical impact.
Success and failure can also be subjective on the surface, but one way to measure a president’s success or failure is his popularity, because the presidency derives its power from the people.
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The American system of governance is designed so that popular presidents have more political capital to get things done. Unpopular presidents have difficulty carrying out their agenda because, as the talking heads like to say, the political wind is blowing against them.
Donald Trump attempted to put the presidency above the American people and reverse the power dynamic. Instead of the president being receptive to the American people, Trump wants the American people to be receptive to the presidency.
In attempting to create what historian Arthur Schlesinger called an imperial presidency, Trump provoked a visceral retaliation from the majority of the American people that plunged his presidency to an all-time low in popular opinion.
The best presidencies prepare for success before taking power. Trump did the opposite and built a presidency doomed to failure.
Let’s look at some examples from Trump’s failed presidency below.