Trump edits his list of greatest US Presidents

President Donald Trump has shared a revised version of his ranking of U.S. presidents, expanding a chart he posted days earlier that placed himself alone in a category labeled “The Greatest” above Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The updated ranking, posted to Truth Social on Sunday, retains Trump in a standalone top tier but adds a number of former presidents who were absent from the version he previously shared. Among those newly included are Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The president’s original chart drew attention because it closely resembled a famous presidential ranking created by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. for LIFE magazine in 1948.

What Changed in Trump’s Presidential Rankings?

Several notable changes appear in the revised version of Trump’s chart, two weeks after the first post.

Most significantly, Reagan, who was absent from the earlier ranking despite his longstanding status as a conservative icon, has been added to the “Near Great” category. Eisenhower has also been placed in the same tier.

The revised list also includes several 20th-century presidents who did not appear in the original version. Kennedy and Nixon are now ranked as “Average.”

Ford and George H.W. Bush have been added to the “Below Average” tier, alongside Lyndon B. Johnson, who also did not appear in Trump’s earlier chart.

Another notable change is the placement of Herbert Hoover. Hoover was previously listed as “Average” but has been moved into the “Failures” category in the revised version. Also added to failures was George W. Bush.

Despite the additions and reshuffling, Trump remains alone in the highest category, titled “The Greatest,” above Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, who continue to occupy the “Great” tier.

Why Was Ronald Reagan Missing From Trump’s Original Ranking?

The omission of Reagan from Trump’s original chart drew particular attention because Reagan has long been regarded by many Republicans as the modern standard-bearer of the conservative movement.

Trump and Reagan are often compared in discussions about the Republican Party’s direction and leadership. In recent years, polling has suggested Trump has surpassed Reagan as the Republican president most admired by GOP voters.

The absence of Reagan therefore stood out in a ranking that otherwise included many presidents commonly viewed favorably by conservatives, including Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt.

While Trump has not publicly explained the changes made to the chart, the revised version now places Reagan among the country’s “Near Great” presidents, directly below Trump’s standalone top category.

Which US Presidents Are Not in the List?

Trump’s revised ranking includes 43 presidents, leaving several commanders in chief off the chart entirely.

Among those not included are John Tyler’s immediate predecessor William Henry Harrison, who served just 31 days before dying in office in 1841, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history.

The list also omits Chester A. Arthur’s predecessor James Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881 after serving less than a year in office.

How Many US Presidents Have There Been?

The United States has had 45 different people serve as president, from George Washington to Donald Trump.

However, Trump is officially the nation’s 45th and 47th president because he served two nonconsecutive terms, just as Grover Cleveland served as both the 22nd and 24th president in the 19th century.

As a result, there have been 47 presidencies but only 45 individual presidents.

Trump’s revised ranking includes most of those presidents, ranging from those he classified as “Great” or “Near Great” to those he placed in the “Failures” category. The chart continues to place Trump alone at the top in a category labeled “The Greatest.”

How Does Trump’s Ranking Compare With Historians’ Views?

Trump’s rankings differ sharply from those produced by presidential historians.

In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project survey, historians ranked Lincoln as the nation’s greatest president, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Jefferson. Trump, who places himself above every other president in his own ranking, finished last in that survey.

The revised chart also continues to elevate figures whose legacies are debated among historians. Woodrow Wilson, for example, remains in the “Great” category despite growing criticism in recent decades over his administration’s record on racial segregation and civil liberties.

At the opposite end of Trump’s rankings, Biden, Obama, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren Harding, Carter and Hoover are grouped together in the “Failures” category.

The updated chart offers another glimpse into Trump’s view of American presidential history while underscoring his unique standing within today’s Republican Party, where polling has shown many GOP voters regard him more favorably than Republican presidents who traditionally occupied the party’s highest tier, including Reagan.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Cristina Diciu.