Is Donald Trump the Worst U.S. President Ever? Actually...

Is Donald Trump the Worst U.S. President Ever? Actually...

If you wanted to identify, with confidence, the very worst president in American history, how would you go about it?

That’s a big load for Wilson to carry through history, though the academic polls consistently rank him quite favorably. That’s probably because most academics are progressives who like Wilson for his own progressive sentiments. But the two Roosevelts also were progressives and left the country better off when they left office. Such a case can’t be made for Wilson, who left the country in shambles. The 1920 Republican victories in the presidential and congressional elections constituted of the greatest political repudiations in U.S. history. Thus, Wilson’s failures of commission render him, arguably, the worst president in American history.

Robert W. Merry is a presidential historian and former Editor of the National Interest.