Scholars who have labeled Trump the “worst president ever” have called out “liberal bias” by surveying an academic group that is “barely distinguishable from the Democratic Party and its far-left wing.”
The academics who labeled Donald Trump the “worst president ever” in their rankings have been accused of having an “uber-liberal” bias and only interviewing members of a Democratic-leaning group.
Political scientists Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston and Justin Vaughn of Coastal Carolina University released their scorecard over Presidents’ Day weekend, with Trump finishing 45th — at the bottom of the table.
Current President Joe Biden came in 14th, based on responses from 154 current and recent members of the American Political Science Association (APSA), a leading group of White House experts.
Social media users pounced on the results, accusing the academics of surveying only a small group of experts with a shared view that is increasingly at odds with that of ordinary Americans.
Abraham Lincoln, who ended slavery in the South, was ranked in the survey as America’s greatest president
“A total of 154 people participated in the ‘poll,’” one X/Twitter user posted mockingly.
Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston
“And they’re all steeped in the uber-liberal world of academia.”
Another denounced a “laughable survey” that did not name respondents.
Others said it was “nonsense” designed to manipulate the public for the Democratic Party in an election year.
Rottinghaus and Vaughn did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Their count came from 154 presidential specialists who are current or recent members of the American Political Science Association (APSA). They were asked to rate each president, from 0 to 100.
Although APSA and its scientific journals are widely respected, the 120-year-old organization with more than 11,000 members has come under fire in recent years for being hostile to conservative views.
Last year, APSA member Robert Maranto, a University of Arkansas scholar, said pluralism within the organization was fading and that conservative scholars had been sidelined from leadership positions.
The American Political Science Association has been criticized in recent years for sidelining conservative voices
X/Twitter users were unrelenting in their criticism of a study they saw as one-sided
Maranto wrote in The Hill that half the country is “politically unrepresented in an organization whose job is to promote political research across the country.”
Justin Vaughn of Coastal Carolina University
It won’t even hold annual conferences in red states, he added.
Similarly, in 2017, Professor Bruce Gilley, of the National Association of Scholars, lambasted APSA for being captured by leftists and focusing only on racial and gender justice at the expense of broader concerns.
“Today, APSA is barely distinguishable from the Democratic Party and its far-left wing,” Gilley writes in Minding the Campus.
“The web page has a constant stream of anti-Trump or anti-Republican news.”
For critics, these are black marks for the 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, which placed Trump, Republican, in last place, a position he has held for six years.
Biden came in a surprising 14th place, putting him in the top third of US presidents, a ranking his campaign team was keen to tout on Monday as the president gears up for a likely election rematch with Trump this fall.
Trump was ranked as the worst president of all time by a survey of experts and was even at the bottom of the list among Republican and Conservative historians. He was also ranked as the most polarizing president of all time, with Andrew Jackson coming in second
The survey of the greatest presidents was conducted from November 15 to December 15 by members of the American Political Science Association
The president’s higher position is partly due to his predecessor. According to experts, one of Biden’s most important achievements was getting Trump out of office.
Vaughn and Rottinghaus noted that Biden has “resumed a more traditional style of presidential leadership” when announcing the results in The Los Angeles Times.
President Abraham Lincoln was named the greatest president of all time, a ranking he has continued to adhere to as the greatest presidents have traditionally been seen as those who presided over the country during times of great transformation or national crises.
Rounding out the ten greatest presidents were Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, Barack Obama, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and John F Kennedy.
The ten worst presidents were Trump, followed by James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison, Warren Harding, Millard Fillmore, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler and Herbert Hoover.
Even taking into account the parties and ideologies of the experts, Trump still ended up at the bottom.
Biden’s campaign praised the president’s debut at 14th, saying he wakes up every day “fighting for the American people.” The president came in just behind Madison, Clinton and Adams, but ahead of Wilson and Reagan
APSA Republicans named him the 41st greatest president, while conservative pundits ranked him 43rd, behind Biden.
Both Republicans and conservatives called George Washington the greatest president of all time.
Biden fared slightly better with Democrats and liberal pundits, who both ranked him as the 13th greatest president of all time. Democrats, liberals and independents all called Abraham Lincoln the greatest president of all time.
Amid growing divisions in the US, respondents were also asked to name the most polarizing president in history.
Trump was by far considered the most polarizing president. President Andrew Jackson came in second.
One of the most “underrated” presidents was Jimmy Carter, who finished 22nd overall.
Another president considered underrated was Civil War hero General Ulysses Grant, who served as president during Reconstruction from 1969 to 1877. He was ranked 17th.
William Henry Harrison was considered the most difficult president to judge as he was in office for only a month before he died.