Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kayleigh McEnany reacts to her old boss Donald Trump being named the worst president ever

‘William Harrison died 31 days into the job AND WAS STILL BETTER THAN TRUMP,’ one person wrote on X

Martha McHardy
Tuesday 20 February 2024 15:04 GMT
Comments
Donald Trump ordered to pay more than $350m in massive fraud trial ruling

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has responded to a new poll that named Donald Trump as the worst president in US history.

The Fox News host said on Monday she found it “infuriating in so many ways” that Donald Trump came in last in a poll ranking all US presidents.

The survey was launched by the “Presidential Greatness Project” and asked academics to rank each of the 45 people who have served as president from George Washington to Joe Biden.

“They are the ivory-tower elites who in no way represent the view of the American people,” Ms McEnany said of the survey’s 154 respondents.

Ms McEnany continued by saying it was “fair” that the survey ranked Abraham Lincoln in first place, however, she was less impressed by the ranking Donald Trump had received in relation to Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

“Then comes Obama at seventh and Biden came in 14th, actually beating Ronald Reagan, who came in 16th, and Trump, dead last,” she said.

Kayleigh McEnany during her time in the Trump White House
Kayleigh McEnany during her time in the Trump White House (AP)

Mr Trump scored just 10.9/100 in the survey, which also branded him the “most polarising” president.

Among Republican scholars who took part in the survey, Mr Trump ranked in 41st place out of the 45 candidates.

The former president is currently facing a combined 91 criminal counts in four separate cases, including one centered around the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, which was carried out by his supporters trying to block the certification of the election and keep him in power despite losing.

Following Ms McEnany’s remarks, plenty of X users rushed to remind the former White House press secretary of this.

“Shocking that the one guy out of 45 who tried to destroy the thing that the job explicitly required him to preserve, protect, and defend would come in 45 out of 45,” wrote George Conway, lawyer and ex-husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Donald Trump was ranked as the worst president in history
Donald Trump was ranked as the worst president in history (REUTERS)

“He’s the ONLY President in American history who lost an election, refused to concede, refused to participate in the peaceful transfer of power, and then he committed crimes trying to overthrow that election. That alone makes him our country’s worst president,” former congressman Joe Walsh said.

“No other president was ever impeached twice and incited an insurrection, so why would this surprise her?” another X user added.

“William Harrison died 31 days into the job AND WAS STILL BETTER THAN TRUMP,” another person added.

The survey awarded Abraham Lincoln the top spot, with an average score of 93.9/100.

Franklin D. Roosevelt came in at number two, followed by the nation’s first president, George Washington. Fourth place went to Theodore Roosevelt and fifth to Thomas Jefferson.

Previous surveys were released in 2015 and 2018, with Mr Trump ranking in the same spot as 2018, while Mr Obama has risen nine places since the first survey, from 16th in 2015 to seventh place in 2024.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in