General Discussion
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(268,931 posts)The world knows that.
pbmus
(12,422 posts)Too good.
Baltimike
(4,143 posts)Gothmog
(145,130 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Now that the weight of being worst president ever has been lifted. Be best, president Buchanan!
Caliman73
(11,730 posts)It is a survey so I guess it is just opinion, but as much as I think that Trump will go down in history as one of the worst in history, I cannot give him the bottom spot. Not as long as we continue to count James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson in the rankings. George Bush might still beat out Trump.
I understand why Trump is being considered. He is only two years into his term and he appears to have decreased America's standing in the world, appears to be allowing Russia to dictate global affairs, has denigrated the office of the presidency and several other institutions by his behavior in office, and seems poised at any moment to plunge the world into war or other chaos. He certainly has the potential to be the worst. However, I think that people may be caught up in the emotions of now and are not looking at things with a more objective frame of reference.
James Buchanan is the president who could have prevented, or at least mitigated the Civil War, a conflict that was one of the most destructive events in American Hisotry. A tragedy that cost 300,000 Union lives and killed another 300,000 Confederate traitors. The conflict fundamentally altered the course of American History and while good leaders like Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan were able to navigate the Union through the conflict, the scars of that conflict are still felt today, which leads me to Andrew Johnson, the exact worst person to be in office at the time of Reconstruction. A racist, Confederate sympathizer who allowed White Supremacy to continue rather than humbling the South and allowing Black Americans the rights paid for with American blood. His presidency set the stage for the next 100 years of oppression for Black Americans which was only partially alleviated in the 1960's with the Civil Rights movement.
In the modern era, George Bush because of incompetence presided over the most devastating terrorist attack on US soil claiming 3,000 Americans, then proceeded to launch the global war on terror (GWOT), first invading Afghanistan to supposedly hunt down Bin Laden, but letting him get away, then invading Iraq which had nothing to do with terrorism. Bush's incompetence or malice cost the US 5,000 more deaths and trillions of dollars and has devastated Iraq and Afghanistan.
Again, I am not saying that Trump cannot be the worst president in history. He certainly has that potential, but he hasn't because of his own incompetence, been able to be as successful in getting his agenda through to create the damage that Bush was able to do. Time will tell, but I can't objectively say he is the worst, yet.
BootinUp
(47,141 posts)I gotta go with Trump.
rwsanders
(2,596 posts)I've been ranking the best based on challenges overcome, which to me leaves FDR and Lincoln as 1 and 2.
But never thought of major failures as a converse criteria for worst. So I like your list.
Have you seen the series "American History for Truthdiggers" over at Truthdig.com?
But you may already know everything he covered there.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,674 posts)the ghosts of James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Warren Harding and Richard Nixon are celebrating.
Pope George Ringo II
(1,896 posts)His failings are legendary, but he's the guy who created the EPA. That's not enough to make him top thirty, but it gets him out of the mid-40s. The worst are train wrecks with no saving graces at all.
Poiuyt
(18,122 posts)But I'm still happy to kick this!
BootinUp
(47,141 posts)Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,925 posts)Wonder if he's tired of all of the winning?
DavidDvorkin
(19,473 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,584 posts)I know that many do not have a memory longer than a nanosecond and forgive and forget only to repeat the mistake, often making it even worse.
Takket
(21,560 posts)PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)Such as he's the best at being the worst....
LiberalLovinLug
(14,173 posts)House of Roberts
(5,168 posts)Everything he touches dies too.
Liberty Belle
(9,534 posts)Other presidents failings were largely due to bumbling and incompetence, not intentional malfeasance and certainly not conspiring with a foreign enemy power to orchestrate the downfall of our democratic system of government.
The others were worse in terms of lives lost, so their lasting negative impacts may be greater.
But as far as being beyond incompetent or even corrupt, Trump has sunk to a level I hope we shall never see again.
We have also never had a president who lied about virtually everything, sought to villify the media, and failed to respect the Constitution and separation of powers, as well as being a racist and white supremacist, and decimating our environmental laws. He also has no concern even for the lives of children -- putting kids in cages and ripping babies from mother's arms. Other than the mistreatment of our Native Americans by Andrew Jackson, no other president has done something so wicked to people on American soil.
PatrickforO
(14,570 posts)It will drive Trump NUTS.
He's already circling the drain.
Martin Eden
(12,863 posts)In my lifetime of 61 years, GW Bush and LBJ have done the most damage.
Trump may top them before he's done, but so far he hasn't gotten us mired in another devastating war.