The following remark was made in a discussion on Facebook. “Obama will definitely be in the bottom five and Trump will be in the top five depending what topic is being discussed.” I was genuinely startled by this, but then I recalled the author’s daily memes and figured out that he probably believes what he said. At that point I had two options, ignore or disagree. Okay, some will say a third was agree, however, that was not possible, on either account.
However, I am used to debating those who lean more towards former President Trump so I know the argument leans heavily on emotion sometimes being even void of fact. What I do wish is that President Obama and Secretary Hilary Clinton, another Trump supporter target, had been white males. At least this way I could rid myself of the lingering question of whether or not Trump Supports hated Obama because of his skin color and Clinton because of her sex. It’s easy for someone to say they are not racist, but given the Trumpist support to Confederate Generals’ statues, the almost violent rage regarding the Confederate flag (actually it is the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) and renaming of the US Army posts who are named to honor Confederate Fighters, support of the wall to keep murders and rapiest out, banning Muslims from entering the country, and being triggered by Critical Race Theory, it is sometimes hard to separate words from actions. No, I am not saying all Trump supporters are racist, but I do think it is a fair question to ask why, after all of Trump’s tweets, comments, and actions, Trump would have almost a cult-like following. Is former President Trump racist? Probably not, he is an opportunist, as long as someone would vote for him that are “good people”, no matter their personal ideology.
Was President Obama the worst President or the best?
President Obama will be considered around the center of Presidents, probably right around Andrew Jackson. Mostly because it was just, average. The expectation that Obama was going to be this great President dwindled fast. During his tenure, there were no major scandals, and he was able to push through a few pieces of legislation. However, a lot of his work was undone by Trump. Okay, queue the right, but what about Benghazi?
What about Benghazi?
Benghazi is a conspiracy theory that Trump and his supporters have used to try and discredit Obama. Basically, they are trying to say that he was complicit in the attack on the embassy in Benghazi. However, there is no evidence to support this claim.
I worked the Libya desk on the Joint Staff when stationed at the Pentagon. I knew Chris Stevens personally. The bullshit that the right passed as their narrative was just a political hack job. If you want to say HRC should have been accountable, fine. All of those in charge during such a situation bear some responsibility, but what happened, what the response should have been, and what occurred wasn’t the crap Tucker Carlson was spewing.
Obama’s first and second terms
Back to Obama. His policies during his first term were barely sufficient for him to maintain the keys to the White House for a second term. However, his second term was so lacking luster, the keys were going to be passed to whomever the Republicans pushed forward. Enter stage right, Donald J Trump.
Was President Trump the best or worst President?
Trump will be in the bottom five and here is why. First, he was impeached twice. No matter your political viewpoint, in fifty years, no one will care or talk about whether or not it was a political witch hunt. There will not be a Barry Bond’s asterisk by Trump’s name saying, yeah but the Democrats hated him. Another President, Andrew Johnson, will share one of the final spots with Trump and was also impeached. In that case, it was a political hit job, but no one outside of academia talks about it.
Trump will easily be one of the worst Presidents in US history. This is because he has been incredibly divisive, and has shown little regard for the rule of law. He has also presided over a number of major scandals, including the Russia investigation, and the government shutdown. Finally, his economic policies have been disastrous for the average American.
Four and the door
President Trump’s four years of actions were not even sufficient enough for him to be reelected. His handling of the pandemic was horrific. The economy plummeted toward the end of his administration. According to all economic indicators, such as the inverted yield curve, Trump ushered the US economy into a recession. We had civil unrest, as our generation has never seen before. His military activities in Afghanistan and Syria were dismal. His approval rating was among the lowest in history, and his disapproval rating had only been exceeded by Harding and Buchanan. He had no major foreign policy victory and no major domestic victory.
Who was the worst?
The worst President is probably James Buchanan. He was President during the lead-up to the Civil War, and he did nothing to stop it. In fact, he may have even made it worse. So, in terms of damage done to the country, Buchanan is probably the worst President.
However, it’s too early to say for sure, but Trump is definitely in the running for worst President ever. Time will tell how history will view January 6th. However, given Trump’s legal problems in New York and is regarded as a co-conspirator for an insurrection, he has the potential to move into first place, for last.
