Survey of 154 scholars places 45th president behind even ‘historically calamitous chief executives’ linked to civil war

Survey of 154 scholars places 45th president behind even ‘historically calamitous chief executives’ linked to civil war

Donald Trump finished 45th and rock bottom of a list ranking US presidents by greatness, trailing even “historically calamitous chief executives” who failed to stop the civil war or botched its aftermath.

Worse for the likely Republican nominee this year, his probable opponent, Joe Biden, debuted at No 14.

“Biden’s most important achievements may be that he rescued the presidency from Trump, resumed a more traditional style of presidential leadership and is gearing up to keep the office out of his predecessor’s hands this fall,” Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus, the political scientists behind the survey, wrote in the Los Angeles Times.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
      4·
      9 months ago

      Considering Nixon’s sordid white house vomited up fox news and the premise that a new nixon should get away with it - well, here we are.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
        5·
        9 months ago

        Considering Nixon’s sordid white house vomited up fox news and the premise that a new nixon should get away with it - well, here we are.

        There’s a 22 year spread between those two.

        From the article…

        Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974.

        From the article…

        The Fox News Channel (FNC) is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was founded by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996.

        • Optional@lemmy.world
          4·
          9 months ago

          If Fox News had a DNA test, it would trace its origins to the Nixon administration. In 1970, political consultant Roger Ailes and other Nixon aides came up with a plan to create a new TV network that would circumvent existing media and provide “pro-administration” coverage to millions. “People are lazy,” the aides explained in a memo. “With television you just sit — watch — listen. The thinking is done for you.” Nixon embraced the idea, saying he and his supporters needed “our own news” from a network that would lead “a brutal, vicious attack on the opposition.”

          https://theweek.com/articles/880107/why-fox-news-created

          Yes it took awhile to completely undermine objective journalism and create a fascist media empire. The point stands.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
            2·
            9 months ago

            Yes it took awhile to completely undermine objective journalism and create a fascist media empire. The point stands.

            Even the article talks about decades passing between the idea/memo from one person and the actual network coming into existence…

            We live in a far different country today, thanks to the vision originally outlined in that 1970 memo, which Ailes realized decades later with Rupert Murdoch’s money.

            All things considered, I now do understand what you’re trying to convey with your comment.