Trump Declares Himself 'Greatest President in American History' — Obama and Biden Ranked as Failures

President Donald Trump has publicly ranked himself as the "greatest president in American history" in an interview with NBC News, placing Joe Biden and Barack Obama among the "worst presidents of all time" and labeling the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as "failures." The ranking has drawn sharp pushback from historians, who argue that Trump's self-assessment is at odds with both historical scholarship and contemporary presidential surveys.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has once again made history — by declaring himself history's greatest leader. In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Trump delivered a sweeping judgment on his Oval Office predecessors, placing himself at the top of the presidential pantheon while dismissing both his immediate Democratic predecessors as "failures" .

"When I look at the list of presidents, I see some great names. But I also see a lot of failure," Trump told the network's Hallie Jackson . "Abraham Lincoln? Washington? Yes, they were great. But they didn't have the challenges I had" .

The ranking comes as part of a broader media blitz in which Trump has repeatedly referenced a "Siena College poll" that he claims ranks him among the Top 5 presidents of all time . However, the actual 2022 Siena College survey placed Trump at #43 among 45 presidents — a far cry from his self-proclaimed pedestal .

Trump's Ranking: Greats vs. Failures

Trump broke down his assessment of presidential performance into three categories:

Trump singled out Obama and Biden for particular criticism. "Obama and Biden, especially Biden, were failures," Trump told reporters at a separate briefing . "They destroyed our economy, they weakened our military, and they opened the borders. Biden is easily the worst president in history — so is Obama!" .

He also criticized Republicans Reagan and the Bushes. "Look, Reagan was a nice man. But he gave amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, and he let deficits explode. He's not in my top 10," Trump said .

What the Historians Say

Historians and political scientists who track presidential rankings have pushed back strongly against Trump's self-assessment. In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project survey of 154 presidential historians, Trump ranked:

• #45 out of 45 presidents — dead last in overall greatness

By contrast, Obama ranked:

• #9 in the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project survey

Biden, who has not yet been included in most ranking surveys, is expected to receive a mixed assessment once historians include his full record. However, no survey has placed Biden in the "worst" category, with most historians placing him in the middle or upper-middle tier .

"President Trump's statement that he is the greatest president in American history is factually contradicted by every systematic survey of presidential historians ever conducted," said Stephen Knott, a professor at the United States Naval Academy and co-author of a book on presidential rankings .

David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University, noted: "He is redefining terms. For him, 'greatness' means asserting power over legal and political institutions. The problem is that, for historians, great presidents use their power to serve democratic ideals — not themselves" .

The Siena Poll Controversy

Trump's repeated citation of the Siena College poll has drawn sharp scrutiny. The 2022 Siena survey placed Trump at #43 — the third lowest in history, ahead of only Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson . In a 2024 update, Trump remained near the bottom .

Trump's campaign issued a statement noting that in a separate, non-scientific online poll conducted by Siena, Trump ranked #1 — but that was an unscientific, self-selected online poll, not the official survey of presidential historians .

The Bottom Line

The debate over presidential greatness has long been a staple of American politics. But Trump's declaration of himself as history's greatest president — combined with his dismissal of Obama, Biden, and even Reagan — has elevated the discussion to a new level of intensity. For historians, the assessment is clear: a president's place in history is ultimately determined not by self-promotion, but by historians — and the first draft of history is rarely the last word.