The worst US president

In 2019, US News and World Report ranked Donald J. Trump as the second worst president of the United States, after James Buchanan, the pro-slavery chief executive.

In 2018, the Presidential Greatness Survey ranked Trump No. 1 as the worst president, with Buchanan at No. 2. Buchanan, the 15th president (March 4, 1857-March 4, 1861) was pro-slavery.

After the Jan. 6, 2021 riot and facing unprecedented 91 charges, if a survey were to be conducted for the worst American president, Trump, the 45th, would be a safe bet for the top spot, bar none.

Losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump refused to concede defeat and falsely claimed widespread electoral fraud. He attempted to overturn the results by pressuring government officials, mounting scores of unsuccessful legal challenges and obstructing the presidential transition.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump urged his supporters to march to the US Capitol, which many of them then attacked, resulting in multiple deaths and interrupting the electoral vote count.

Trump is the only American president to be impeached twice, in 2020 and 2021.

According to Vox, Trump is facing 91 criminal charges in four jurisdictions — Georgia, Florida, New York and the District of Columbia. Two trial dates are set for 2024 so far, while campaigning to be president again.

With Biden’s popularity just touching 40s (in percent) and his age touching 80s, Trump has an even chance of winning. So far, in polls, Biden is slightly ahead of Trump, 43 vs. 41 percent.

A Trump return to the White House has huge geopolitical implications, especially as regards the Ukraine war (he might pull out of it); China (he might intensify the tension); Taiwan (a war there could boost his ratings); the Philippines (Trump does not like nice guys) and conduct in the White House (Trump redefined corruption shamelessly).

The 91 Trump cases are sprawling in their breadth and legal overreach. They include trying to steal the 2020 election, mishandling and hiding classified documents and hush money payments (to a porn star).

The stakes are high – for world peace, for American democracy and for Trump personally. A guilty verdict in any of the 91 charges, all felonies, will make Trump “a man of conviction”.

The prosecutions for attempts to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory (in DC and Georgia) both come with the possibility of serious criminal penalties, says Vox. “They also have enormous implications for the future of American elections, and for whether Trump or someone like him will respect the results next time around.”

The classified documents prosecution, in Florida, involves sensitive intelligence material. This could be the easiest of the cases, to defend.

In the New York case, Trump is charged with falsifying business records related to hush money payments he’d made. Vox explains the core violation here is, basically, that the Trump Organization logged these payments improperly as “legal expenses.”

The DC Federal 2020 election case says Vox “will legally define what a politician is able to do to reverse a defeat.” The outcome of this case could have major implications for the 2024 election and every race that follows: If Trump isn’t held accountable for the actions he took on Jan. 6 and leading up to it, he and others could try to pull the same schemes in the future, says Vox.

“This case has a significant bearing on the future of US democracy,” says Vox.

There are four felony counts.

• Charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which includes plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election

• Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, including plotting to prevent the 2020 election certification

• Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, which includes actually blocking the certification of the 2020 election results

• Conspiracy against rights, which includes a plan to deprive someone of a constitutional right (in this case, that is the ability to vote).

Jail times: 5 to 20 years, per count.

The Georgia election indictment is also very important.

Trump and several of his associates are accused of a sprawling racketeering conspiracy related to their efforts to overturn Biden’s win in the state. In contrast to the federal election indictment, where Trump is the only one charged so far, here 18 others were also charged for participating in this alleged conspiracy. These include famous names like Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, notorious Trump lawyers like John Eastman and Sidney Powell and lower-level Georgia players, notes Vox.

Significantly, says Vox, if Trump wins the presidency again in 2024, he would not be able to thwart this prosecution, since it is being carried out under state law. There are 13 felony counts, including:

• 1 count of violating the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, which is basically a catchall charge for the larger conspiracy to overturn the outcome

• 3 counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, which are about Trump’s attempts to convince Georgia officials to overturn the results

• 1 count of conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

• 2 counts of conspiracy to commit forgery.

The Florida documents case centers on a president’s ability to endanger the country’s national security by taking and mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Documents covered US nuclear programs, the country’s defense and weapons capabilities and how America could respond in the face of a possible attack.

Trump obstructed FBI efforts to take back the documents. There are 40 felony counts. Expect five to 20 years jail time for conviction.

The New York Stormy Daniels hush money case centers on efforts by Trump to conceal hush money paid to the porn actress so she wouldn’t go public about their affair. There are 34 felony counts.

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