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New testimony linking President Joe Biden to a “pay to play” bribery scheme raises the question of how history will assess his tenure in office.
Admittedly, it is risky to compare the performance of modern presidents against their predecessors. Because it is hard to place current events in historical context, snap judgments can prove embarrassing later.
For example, during the presidency of George W. Bush (served 2001-2009), some commentators ranked him as the worst American chief executive in history. In hindsight, however, that assessment seems absurd, even to liberal academics. The 2021 C-SPAN Presidential Historians Survey ranked him 29th of 44.
More recently, some commentators have characterized Donald J. Trump (2017-2021) as the worst president. But this assessment disregards some clear successes, particularly in economic and foreign policy.
Nevertheless, the record so far suggests that, barring unforeseen events, Biden will rank as one of the worst presidents of all time.
How Surveys Rate the Presidents
In addition to C-SPAN, other organizations, such as Siena College, publish presidential rankings. They pose questions to people they consider experts (mostly historians and other academics) and then tabulate the results.
Unfortunately, these surveys are deeply flawed. This is true for two reasons: the questions and the answers.
First, the questions are largely disconnected from the president’s job description as it appears in the Constitution. Most questions do not address constitutional duties such as general law enforcement and serving as military commander-in-chief. Instead, they reflect liberal obsession with factors like “vision” and “economic management.” And while the framers designed the presidency as a check on Congress, the surveys give presidents better scores if they go along with Congress.
Second, the answers are skewed by liberal bias. For instance, in the 2021 C-SPAN survey, academic historians listed Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) third among presidents for “economic management,” while ranking Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) 15th. But history shows that FDR’s conflicting economic policies failed to pull the economy out of the doldrums after years of trying, while Reagan’s policies quickly converted a recession into an economic boom.
What About Biden?
As you might suspect, Biden ranks poorly if you use criteria based on the Constitution. Remarkably, however, he also ranks poorly even if you use the kind of criteria that appear in the surveys. Let’s examine his performance on some of those criteria.
Scandal
America has been fortunate in having mostly honest presidents. Nevertheless, historians mark down even innocent presidents when scandals arise on their watch. That is a major reason Warren Harding (1921-1923) and Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) are not ranked higher.
The Biden administration already has been marred by several scandals, and unlike the cases of Harding and Grant they may implicate the president himself.
Enforcing the Law
The Constitution commands the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Although the published surveys do not emphasize this factor enough, it affects the ratings indirectly. The outstanding example of this is the very poor ranking of James Buchanan (1857-1861) because he failed to enforce federal law against the seceding Southern states.
Just as Buchanan permitted the secessionists to leave the Union in violation of law, Biden is permitting millions of foreigners to enter the Union in violation of law. The results, if not corrected quickly, may be as profound as the results Buchanan’s derelictions threatened to become.
This is only one incidence of the Biden administration’s contempt for the rule of law. Others appear below.
“Equal Justice”
The C-SPAN survey asks whether presidents furthered “Equal Justice for All”—another example of liberal bias. (A more constitutionally-rooted question would be whether the president enforces the law generally.) It is difficult to see how Biden does well even on this imperfect measure. Although some past presidents have weaponized the government against political enemies, weaponization under Biden has reached a new peacetime high. Anyone with an honest historical sense knows that this is a very alarming development and certainly not in conformance with “equal justice.”
Foreign Policy
This factor appears in most of the published surveys—as it should because the Constitution grants the president, either expressly or by implication, wide foreign policy powers.
Although the condition of the world stems from many causes, it is impossible to disregard the fact that after Biden was inaugurated the world became a more violent and dangerous place. The growth of Communist Chinese influence and the Russian-Ukrainian war are two aspects of this change.
Economic Management
This is another criterion that appears in published surveys. Arguably it is an illegitimate question because (1) economic management is not among the president’s constitutional responsibilities, (2) the president’s power over the economy is limited by the power of Congress, the Federal Reserve, and administrative agencies beyond his reach, and (3) the question pre-supposes that it is government’s job to “manage” the economy.
In deference to the surveys, however, let’s consider Biden’s performance.
In the short time he has been in office, the national debt has risen from less than $31 trillion to nearly $34 trillion. If Congress had not rejected lavish additional spending and the Supreme Court had not invalidated his student loan scheme, the debt level would be even higher.
There is also the much-under-reported Medicare scandal. During his self-declared COVID-19 emergency, Biden ordered Medicare to pay the full cost of excessive COVID-19 test kits, with no co-payments for people who ordered the tests. This has led to fraudsters bilking the government for untold millions.
These and other irresponsible policies predictably triggered a round of inflation of the kind Americans had not seen since the 1970s. They also have resulted in continued workforce under-participation.
Admittedly, Biden shares the blame for inflation with Trump and the state governors, nearly all of whom made bad economic decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abuse of Power
In the past, major presidential abuses of power occurred primarily in time of war. These included Abraham Lincoln’s (1861-1865) suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, Woodrow Wilson’s (1913-1921) suppression of dissent, and FDR’s incarceration of Japanese-Americans.
But Biden’s administration has been guilty of widespread abuses of presidential power during a time of peace. These include:
– the discriminatory application of justice, referred to above,
– sweeping executive orders that invade state and congressional prerogatives and impair liberty—including several orders voided by the courts, and
– “arguably . . . the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history,” as documented by Judge Terry A. Doughty in his preliminary opinion in Missouri v. Biden (pdf).
Historians sometimes cite Richard Nixon’s abuses as a reason for marking him down. As Judge Doughty’s opinion demonstrates, Nixon’s abuses pale in comparison with Biden’s.
Moral Leadership v. Demagogy
“Moral leadership”—as opposed to demagogy—is unmentioned in the Constitution, but a feature of published presidential ranking systems. Again, Biden scores poorly.
Failing to respond to corruption is a sign of poor moral leadership. So is purporting to transfer student debt obligations from those who benefited from them to those who did not. (Preventing such transfers was one reason the Constitution was adopted.
Historians often mark down Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) because of his intemperance in attacking opponents, but Biden has been at least as divisive. Recall his notorious Aug. 25, 2022 MAGA speech, in which he called mainstream political opponents “extremists” and “semi-fascists.”
Cognitive Impairment
The Siena College survey includes a distinct category for presidential “intelligence.” This probably should not be a separate factor, because a president’s cognitive abilities show up in his performance on other measures, such as foreign policy and administrative skills.
Still, the Siena College survey allows participants to demote presidents for supposed cognitive weakness. And academics sometimes mark down Reagan and George Washington (1789-1797) for alleged cognitive decline late in their presidencies.
Biden, of course, has exhibited signs of cognitive decline from the very beginning of his presidency. This reduces his ability to control his subordinates. Subordinates not subject to control often run wild, knowing the man at the top will get the blame for anything that goes wrong.
Military Policy
The Constitution specifies that the president is commander-in-chief of the military, so it is surprising that not all surveys address it. They should.
The Biden administration has been responsible for several embarrassing military lapses. One was the debacle accompanying American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Another was the inexplicable failure to shoot down a Communist Chinese spy balloon before it had photographed much of the country.
Of more long-term import is Biden’s politicization of the military—a frightening development almost unique in American history.
This mismanagement has affected readiness in several ways, including recruitment problems.
Conclusion
Of course, a full historical assessment of the Biden presidency will have to await completion of his term. At this point, however, he seems headed for a ranking among the very worst of American presidents.
Robert G. Natelson, a historian and former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant” (3rd ed., 2015). He is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
Lyndon Johnson normally is not floated as one of the worst but he should be. Johnson and Carter were terrible presidents but Biden is in a league of his own.
Biden may not only be the worst President but would rank among the most corrupt and wicked leaders in history.
That singular act of abandoning Afghanistan so the stupid flake could stage a photo-op on the 20th anniversary, cemented him as the worst *president in history.
It involved several facets of incompetence born of a pure selfishness
¹ the fool surrendered Bagram Airbase. It’s strategic importance to us cannot be overstated, as it gave us a check near Russia & China & the surrounding region.
As that impregnable base is now lost, we now have no eyes there, and no way to monitor local activity.
² when told it’d result in the destruction of thousands of allies & citizens left behind, Sleaze-bag Biden said “Fock ’em!” . . . and so he did.
Any future allies we attempt to court will be hesitant, if not outright hostile to us. They’ll know we’ll betray them on a whim.
³ BILLIONS in top grade military hardware was left behind as a parting gift.
Viktor Bout (released by dumbass biden) is brokering deals with the surplus hardware as we speak.
To many other failurs encapsulated in that self-inflicted fiasco to list here.
So sorry that the grifting fool had his big day ruined. Fock him.
I think everything he does, good or bad, is simply to get his name in the history books. He was fortunate the Dem party became so radical and corrupt enough to steal elections before his dementia put him on the shelf. He doesn’t care what the Dem party does to this country and the world or who really makes the calls as long as he gets to be known as Mr. President.
The US has been a treacherous ally for a long time now. We abandoned Eastern Europe to Soviet domination, instituted Operation Keelhaul, and abandoned Vietnam just as we were winning the war. And that’s a very superficial scan of recent history; there’s a lot that I left out. I’m not sure why anyone would trust us.
Beijing Biden is definitely the worst President America has ever had, and he wasn’t even elected. (The election was stolen by the Dirtbagocrats.)
And everybody knows he isn’t running the show.
Context matters, but whenever the best national prospects consist of a murder-suicide within our executive component, attention is warranted.
He’s the least qualified, thats for sure. Damaging? Wilson and Obama were very bad for the US. Corrupt? Thats harder to say…Clinton probably milked the Presidency for more than Biden.
The Clintons are also grifting scumbags.
It was telling to see the Clinton Holyland Foundation shrink to a husk (now on life support), as a result of the bitch losing the election in 2016. Our enemies no longer have incentive to bribe her.
On a historical note, it’s more telling how Hillary tried to jail Billy Dale of so as to appear justified in clearing out the Travel Office.
She did so, because the malignant narcissist had chafed at a smattering of critical press over her having had cleared out the Press Release dept earlier. (Her definition of bad press is when they don’t kiss her ass.)
Hillary wanted the Travel Office for her cronies. She could’ve just fired them also, but chose malicious prosecution instead to help “appearances”.
It backfired on her badly, but I’m not accusing her of being smart, just accusing her ofbeing an evil scheming low-life.
She even looks like a wicked witch.
Not even a close second, at least within my lifetime. Having lived through the Johnson, Carter and Obama presidencies, this bumbling evil sock puppet is the perfect front for contemptuous ne’er-do-well’s pulling the strings from inside, who dictate his agenda to him. It may be possible to name one from our nation’s history, but WORST in my mind describes Biden to a Tee.
It’s hard to choose between Biden and Obama but, as someone who was born during the Truman administration, I’m going to give the nod to Biden. He has all of his own dishonesty, stupidity, incompetence and corruption, plus the malevolence of his puppet master Obama.
Sometimes things are what they seem.
It seems Obama handled the charges. Biden handled the detonator.
And he’s still setting them from behind the curtain.
Couldn’t possibly have said it better.
Can someone please name one? That one worst one could easily provide material for a FPM post.
Obama–by a racist, Marxist, America-hating mile
Mr. Ahlert, I remember your NY Post articles. But I must ask you – how are Biden’s economic, geopolitical, and racial policies less destructive to America than those of the execrable traitor, Obama? Even Obama expressed approval of cheaper gasoline prices when fracking finally led to abundant U.S. crude oil supplies, but cynically claimed credit for the price drop, which occurred despite his curtailment of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and other actions which led to persistent high energy prices throughout most of his eight disastrous years as president. Yet Biden wants to ban U S. drilling altogether – he said as much in an interview which was aired on The Weather Channel late last week.
Obama and Biden are one and the same!
No, they aren’t. Alzheimer Joe obviously makes no policy decisions, his handlers do. And Bareback Hussein Osama is no mastermind, he’s a lazy, incompetent fraud.
Great article.
The loss of our southern border alone should rank Biden as the absolute worst president ever.
Biden has now passed Carter as this nations #1 Worst President and he just continues to prove it each passing day which shows why we should never vote for anyone favored by the M.S. Media
There is no other president that ranks as low as this BUFFOON of a POTUS. He has put the USA at the verge. of total destruction. He and the USA are the laughing stock of the world.!!!!
Maybe the question should be, is Biden the worst human being to ever be president. The evaluation should cover his entire adult life, not just the past 2.5+ years as POTUS. In such an evaluation Biden has only one field of endeavor to be rated, politics. He had no outstanding accomplishments in his life before VP was given to him and afterwards the terms trader and scoundrel would seem to fit best.
I would have to say “not the worst president, due to a technicality.” Biden is not the duly elected president, and EVERYONE knows it. Obama/Johnson are still tied for the worst.
SO true, EVERYONE knows it whether they will admit it or not. It was the coup of a lifetime pulling off what the Democrats and their Communist Chinese Masters pulled off in the 2020 election.
Biden has spent his 50 years in government learning how to “get over” by using lies and his authority to fill his coffers with cash and homes. Sad to think that this is what he learned by being a member of congress.
The reason Jimmy Carter had an ear to ear grin all the time. Was because after Biden/Obama he knew he would not go down in history as America’s worst president.
Biden is not the worst president ever
He is not president
THE TRAGEDY FOR AMERICA IS THAT JOE IS NOTHING BUT A BAD CLONE OF BARACK OBAMA AND GEORGE SOROS’ RENT BOY
Of course, I never accepted the premise that Donald Trump was not a normal president. If you know even a little bit about presidential history, Donald Trump was a whole lot better than many of them. Franklin Roosevelt had affairs, John F. Kennedy had orgies, Bill Clinton had…well, I don’t even want to go there. If Obama committed peccadillos, the media covered for him, but what’s certain is that even the media couldn’t cover for how corrupt his administration was, culminating in the Russia Hoax.
The most disturbing Biden weirdness yet
By Thomas Lifson
You would NOT task such a person with any serious responsivities, much less the crushing burden of the presidency.
Unfortunately for the Republic, the Democrats’ cynical choice of Kamala Harris as vice president, obviously based on their identity politics obsession, has put her in line for the presidency if the 25th Amendment is invoked to remove him from office. It was designed for exactly the situation we face now, with an impaired person in office.
I would not call him a President ,puppet maybe , but not a President
The Biden crime family is evil, does evil, lives in evil, and their future will be evil.
Their future will be remorse, guilt, and misery — forever. They can’t buy or bully their way out of their sins.
I agree with a lot of the comments but there is one difference. There are terrible destructive policies. AND there are terrible immoral people. Sometimes they are different.
Woody Wilson is terrible policy wise. So is frankie roosevelt. They continue to harm us 100 years later.
LBJ was terrible policy wise and moral wise along with bama
Clinton was immoral personally. He cut welfare when required to by Newt for example. It actually worked.
You need to discuss the rules before awarding the trophy.
Yes, but he didn’t achieve it entirely on his own. Obama had a huge role in Biden’s “success”. And we can’t give Biden too much personal credit for his moral turpitude, corruption, crime, or treason. It all comes with being a leftist.
Lavrentiy Beria preyed on young girls in the Soviet Union. He was a vicious pervert. Joe Biden preyed on his own daughter, and any underage girl he could get his hands on. The Democrat Party knew about these things but made him a vice president, then elevated him to the presidency.. The Democratic Party is the worst party ever, but Americans continue to vote for them.. The rot starts at the roots.
The Democrat party should have been banned in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, which was a war entirely of their making. This is one of those “If Lincoln had lived…” issues — would he have asked Congress to do it before the war was over, and most Democrats, coming from seceding states, were no longer seated?
Obama: a waste of white DNA!
I await condemnation for speaking truth.
You mean white trash DNA. His mother wasn’t any bargain, and his putative father (Obama, Sr.) was an alcoholic bigamist. If Frank Marshall Davis was his father, he too was absolute garbage. Not a waste of any DNA, a waste of oxygen all around.
it mystifies me that anyone could write that we have to wait til the end of his term to see if he ranks as the worst president in american political history .!!?? he hadn’t even set foot in the crack house and we knew that he was an appalling , lying grifter of an individual . he actually wasn’t elected , read mollie hemingways book ” rigged ” and you will know how they installed such a reprobate to the top job . he is just the figure head hence the reason the feckless jeane pierre press secretary has to keep plugging bidenomics and THE PRESIDENT ruse continuously in the hope that if you repeat the lie often enough the constituents will believe it . worked for hitler and every other demagogue throughout history . one other bizarre issue is that his approval rating is supposed to be 39% !!!??? goes to show that there is a large percentage of voters that would vote for him even if his name was stalin . go figure !!
Yep. No doubt corruption is rampant throughout the political world. Sadly, stupidity, apathy and idolatry are over represented in the electorate.
It’s our education system. Voters haven’t the foggiest idea of history or what government can and cannot do. It’s no surprise that they vote like idiots; they have no idea what they’re doing.
No, that remains to be the Obamanation, as Joey Sniff is Barry’s butt puppet.
PROOF: LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR BIDEN. VS. TRUMP????????? ALONG WITH THE BENEFITS OF WHAT EACH ONE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE !!!!!!!
Biden is about to hit the bottom of the Marinah Trench as his polls sink deeper and deeper