C-SPAN’s first post-Donald Trump survey of greatest presidents indicates impeachment really is a scar on a president’s legacy—which should please House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who all but stated that was her goal. Trump’s impeachment seems to have made the topic fresh enough to have tainted (or re-tainted) the legacies of Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon. And, perhaps nominally Andrew Johnson.
As noted in my book “Abuse of Power,” one day after Trump’s acquittal in the first impeachment over non-criminal articles, an angry Pelosi said at a press conference: “You’re impeached forever. You’re never getting rid of that scar.”
In an interview for the book, Robert Ray, one of Trump’s attorneys in the impeachment trial noted, “What also, I think, lasts forever is the judgment of acquittal.”
Trump was actually twice acquitted in Senate impeachment trials, but that might indeed have less of an aura than being twice impeached—which was likely a big contributor to Trump’s first ranking as a former president at 41.
Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley said the legacy of impeachment likely impacted other presidential rankings.
"This year, people compared which is worse: Watergate or the Trump impeachment?,” Brinkley said in a public statement. “The word ‘impeachment’ probably cost Nixon a few spots downward this year, and maybe Clinton too."
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president, impeached by the House in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice, and acquitted by the Senate in 1999, saw his own ranking fall to 19 this year. In 2017, he was ranked 15, and ranked 14 in 2009. Now he’s practically where he was in the first year he was ranked a 21 in 2000, when the survey began.
Nixon, who resigned to avoid impeachment, came it at 31 in 2021. He had his lowest ranking since the survey began, going from 26 in 2000 to 27 in 2009 and 28 in 2017.
“Abuse of Power” warned that weaponizing impeachment even when no crime is alleged could make it more common. The same could be true now that we have evidence that it is an effective way to scar a president’s legacy.
The first impeached President Andrew Johnson ranked second from last place. That didn’t change all that much, but still declined his place at 40 in 2000, 41 in 2009 and 42 in 2017.
It should be noted that despite assertions the rankings were a cross section, academia has a reputation for a reason. It wasn’t feasible not to include President Ronald Reagan in the top 10. However, the president who won the Cold War ranked ninth. Somehow, Barack Obama made it into the top 10 this year--one spot below Reagan. Oddly, one of the worst presidents ever, Woodrow Wilson, was actually ranked 13 overall. But Wilson did see the largest drop in the category of “Pursued Equal Justice,” he plummeted 17 places to rank at 37.
As for Trump, even his best category scores weren’t great. He managed to score the highest on public persuasion, at 32. He deserved a much higher ranking than 34 for economic management—considering the pre-COVID-19 Trump economy was extraordinary.
Historians ranked him 44 on the question of moral authority—which was almost directly tied to his impeachment.
Also what Trump has going for him is he’ll likely only move up with time. Since the survey began in 2000, Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama each ranked lower in their first year out of office but climbed in subsequent years.
Also, one might look at the biggest winner of the survey. Ulysses S. Grant, once known primarily for corruption in his administration, going from 33 when the survey began in 2000 to 20 this year. For that matter, Bush left office in 2009 with a rank of 36 and increased to 29 this year.
So, there is definitely hope for a historical reassessment of Trump. Though it’s likely going to take a few more surveys. As presidential historian Craig Shirley said earlier this year, “He didn’t end his presidency well.”
“He had a good story to tell as a one-term president. It would have been a good story to tell for a two-term president,” Shirley continued. “But you can’t judge the Trump presidency without judging his character. It’s not just accomplishments. It’s also character.”
Fred Lucas is the author of “Abuse of Power: The Three Year Campaign to Impeach Donald Trump,” (Post Hill Press, 2020) and White House correspondent for The Daily Signal.
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