{
  "id": 4194236,
  "title": "Trump declares himself ‘greatest’ US president",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/trump-declares-himself-greatest-us-president",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T12:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/news/world/2026-08-29-trump-declares-himself-greatest-us-president/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Donald Trump has declared himself the \"greatest\" president in U.S. history, placing Joe Biden and Barack Obama as \"failures\" in a ranking shared on social media. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington follow Trump, ranking as \"Great,\" while Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson are classified as \"Near Great.\" Bill Clinton is categorized as \"Average,\" with Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter placed below him. The graphic, drawing from a 1948 LIFE magazine ranking, omits other presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and both George Bushes. Trump's version emphasizes recent Democratic presidents and his own presidency. A recent Elon University poll indicated 53% of Republicans view him as the Republican president they admire most, surpassing Reagan (18%) and Lincoln (8%). However, expert surveys have consistently ranked Trump last, with the Presidential Greatness Project survey awarding him 12.34 points out of 100 in 2018, compared to Lincoln's 95.03. Recent polls show Trump's overall approval rating at a record low of 33%, with 65% disapproving, and a Marquette survey revealing even lower approval rates on economic matters.",
  "summary": "The American leader put himself above Lincoln and Washington while branding Biden and Obama “failures”",
  "key_points": [
    "Trump declares himself greatest US president on social media",
    "Lincoln and Washington follow Trump as Great presidents",
    "Recent Elon University poll shows 53% of Republicans admire Trump"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}