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Boxing analysts like to debate who is the greatest boxer across all weight classes. But who is the greatest president across the American centuries? The Presidential Greatness Project, a joint project of Professors Brandon Rottinghaus (University of Houston) and Justin Vaughn (Coastal Carolina University), periodically surveys members of the American Political Science Association and asks them to evaluate and rank all US Presidents using a detailed survey. The results of the 2024 survey are in, and the top five are, in order, Abraham Lincoln, FDR, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. No big surprises there! Focusing on presidents who served in the last 50 years they rank Nixon at #35, Ford at #27, Carter at #22, Reagan at #16, George HW Bush at #19, Clinton at #12, George W Bush at #32 and Obama at #7. So what about Trump and Biden? Trump was ranked dead last at #45. Biden came in just behind Clinton and just ahead of Reagan at #14. Joe Biden was recognized for his record of leadership and legislative accomplishments even though he served in one of the most divisive and partisan times in our recent history.

This same organization also picked the five most and least polarizing presidents in history. The least polarizing was Washington. No surprise there either. He didn’t even want political parties to exist! And by a wide margin the most polarizing was Trump. Andrew Jackson came in a distant second and he was the president who forced the removal of Native American tribes to the Oklahoma territory against their will (and ignored a clear decision of the Supreme Court).

Joe Biden’s recent decision not to seek reelection for the good of the country and party can only help his presidential ranking. Now that he has endorsed Kamala Harris for President she will have the chance to gain the party’s nomination and prosecute the case against Trump, the worst and most divisive president of all time. When she wins, she will have the opportunity to enter the ring and fight for her own place in presidential history. She will fight for reproductive rights, action on climate change, immigration reform, gun reform, healthcare, safeguards for our democracy, Ukrainian independence, and to end the war in Gaza. She will focus on the issues that matter most to Americans. These are the fights that will define her own place in presidential history.