Asklemmy

me if enough of you write in "EstraDoll" in 2028

Trump is definitely in the bottom quintile, but also anyone putting him in the bottom 5 is just recency bias.

Does worst mean:

• least able to achieve their stated agenda, ie worst at their job. (Trump)
• worst vision for America, ie most evil (Reagan)
• worst overall impact to America, ie one you'd kill with a time machine (Bush Jr, but Trump might catch up in term 2)
• Worst for the world, ie the one I'd kill with a time machine (Washington)

Although I'm not American and don't know your history that well.

It's Reagan or Nixon, no contest. Bush pales in comparison

Reagan. Without a doubt Reagan.

Going for the low hanging fruit, huh?

The one that's presiding over a genocide and is currently trying to start WW3.

If we’re talking strictly the neoliberal era would it be too out there to say 1. Bush Jr 2. Reagan 3. Biden? All time though probably Andrew Jackson

Wasn't it Nixon who sold the americans out? Or Truman?

James K. Polk. He went into a bloody war for conquest with Mexico to conclude Manifest Destiny.

Plenty of choice. In my view, most presidents were rambling reeking right wingers in some way or other, save for FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, who were the two presidents I'd actually call capable and outspoken on civil rights (rather than just pragmatical like Lincoln). They did have their blemishes, but less than e.g. Andrew Jackson.

So many presidents were terrible for one people or another.

Andrew Jackson? Held hundreds of slaves and quite literally led an ethnic expulsion against Native Americans (the Trail of Tears).

Lincoln? Mostly good, but did not forbid slavery in the form of penal labour. If one were to abolish slavery, why not go the full mile?

Wilson? Rabid antisemite, pretty much.

Hoover? Might've tried to tackle the Great Depression -- but did so by allying with large coorporations, effectively being corrupt and choosing bribery.

Truman? Dropped nukes and set the stage for "we support any government that hates people being remotely leftist".

Nixon - corrupt and wanted to sidestep the rule of law, all for his own profit: to stay in power. Other than thaf, decent, but that's a big "other than that".

Reagan - enough said. Ultracapitalist, misleading, made the US economy far worse by accruing debt like there's no tomorrow, and shoving it onto the poor -- typical oligarch behaviour! Militaristic, power-hungry. And no, he did not end the Cold War: Gorbachov did.

JFK: socially pretty good, actually. But economically, the cutting of the top rates made the richest keep more money. At least it wasn't down below 50%, but still. Had that happened, I think the tax rates would've allowed wealth accumulation.

And so on.

So, in my view, it's hard to focus on who is the worse, and better to rather focus on what is the best. Ted would be my candidate. Not only social progress, but also economical, and in a way that favour the worker -- and he also was environmentally aware. That is a good president.

Agree with most of the comments about jackson being the worst, but I'm surprised no one's mentioned Eisenhower and Hoover, who would easily go in the top ten.