The modern presidency has been lucky to have several chief executives ranked among the greatest. And of course, it’s had some of the “worst,” as seen in the cellar rankings of outgoing President Joe Biden.
But it also has something unique in America’s 236 years since George Washington first stepped into the job. In President-elect Donald Trump, it has both a worst and “great” chief and potentially one of the greatest ever.
Kicked to the curb following two impeachments and a 2020 loss to Biden, Trump has surged in the latest Zogby Analytics Presidential Greatness Poll provided exclusively to Secrets. Trump is now fifth among the last 15 modern-day presidents, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt on.
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Adults interviewed by Zogby Analytics gave Trump a 30% “great” and 17% “near great” rating for a 47% greatness score. That was equal to former President Dwight Eisenhower, though Ike’s “great” rating was just 19%.
Former President John F. Kennedy led the pack with a 35% “great” and 31% “near great” score for a 66% great rating. He was followed by FDR at 59% great-near great, Ronald Reagan with a 54% great-near great score, and Barack Obama at 50% great-near-great.
Biden, meanwhile, ends his presidency at the bottom, below former Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter with a combined 22% great-near great rating. His “below average-failure score was 38% and a sizable 38% were not sure.
One thing is for sure, said pollster Jonathan Zogby. Trump is on the move up.
Should he come through on his promises and even out the lopsided partisan support he has, said Zogby, Trump could reach Reagan-levels of greatness.
“He is in a sort of honeymoon period, coming off a resounding victory in the election. If he can reverse the damage done under Biden and follow through on reducing consumer prices, crime, and enforce border policies, he’ll move into Reagan territory among Republicans and other voting blocs. Maybe even eclipse Reagan, but he has a lot of work ahead of him,” Zogby told Secrets.
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Below are the five key takeaways from the latest Zogby Analytics Presidential Greatness Poll analysis:
