Fact check: Donald Trump updated a 1948 presidential ranking in August 2026.

Verdict: misleading — Trust Score 39/100

The Instagram post accurately reports that Donald Trump shared an updated presidential ranking in August 2026, placing himself in the 'Greatest' tier and several Democratic presidents in the 'Failures' category. The post correctly identifies the original ranking's source as a 1948 LIFE magazine survey and notes the omission of Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman. However, the claim that Trump previously called Reagan 'high quality' is based on a fabricated quote from 2019, as confirmed by 5 sources.

Platform
instagram
Source author
thebraintickle — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DckaEkEnY2_/?igsi=aWk1cDByczhxb2Z1
Verified on
August 29, 2026
Verification ID
_4HpWcjaRWSRfSUbyhZPqw

Original content reviewed

Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @thebraintickle --- Caption/Description --- Donald Trump updated a 1948 presidential ranking this August 2026, placing himself in the "Greatest" tier while relegating Ulysses S. Grant and Jimmy Carter to the "Failures" category. The list, which originated from a LIFE magazine survey of 55 experts, omits Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman despite Trump previously calling Reagan "high quality." It seems Abraham Lincoln and George Washington will have to settle for being merely "Great" for now. --- Carousel/Slides (2 items) --- Slide 1 (image): Text: TRUMP REVEALS PRESIDENTIAL TIER LIST AND RANKS HIMSELF #1 Slide 2 (image): Text: THE GREATEST TRUMP GREAT LINCOLN WASHINGTON F.D. ROOSEVELT WILSON JEFFERSON JACKSON NEAR GREAT T. ROOSEVELT CLEVELAND J. ADAMS POLK AVERAGE CLINTON J.Q. ADAMS MONROE HAYES MADISON VAN BUREN TAFT ARTHUR McKINLEY JOHNSON HOOVER B. HARRISON BELOW AVERAGE TYLER COOLIDGE FILLMORE TAYLOR BUCHANAN PIERCE FAILURES BIDEN OBAMA GRANT HARDING CARTER Published: 2026-08-28T03:34:46.000Z ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @thebraintickle --- Caption/Description --- Donald Trump updated a 1948 presidential ranking this August 2026, placing himself in the "Greatest" tier while relegating Ulysses S. Grant and Jimmy Carter to the "Failures" category. The list, which originated from a LIFE magazine survey of 55 experts, omits Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman despite Trump previously calling Reagan "high quality." It seems Abraham Lincoln and George Washington will have to settle for being merely "Great" for now. --- Visible Text/Media --- Two slides showing a presidential ranking list. The first slide announces Trump's list, and the second slide details the tiers: Greatest, Great, Near Great, Average, Below Average, and Failures, with --- Claims to Verify --- 1. Donald Trump updated a 1948 presidential ranking in August 2026. 2. Trump placed himself in the "Greatest" tier of his updated presidential ra

Claims analyzed (12)

  1. verified: Donald Trump updated a 1948 presidential ranking in August 2026.
    Multiple news sources confirm that Donald Trump shared an updated presidential ranking on Truth Social in August 2026, which was based on a 1948 LIFE magazine survey.
  2. verified: Trump placed himself in the "Greatest" tier of his updated presidential ranking.
    News reports confirm that Donald Trump's updated presidential ranking includes a new top tier called "The Greatest," in which he placed himself alone.
  3. verified: Trump relegated Ulysses S. Grant and Jimmy Carter to the "Failures" category in his ranking.
    The image provided in the post clearly shows Ulysses S. Grant and Jimmy Carter in the "Failures" category. This is corroborated by multiple news sources reporting on Trump's ranking.
  4. verified: The original 1948 presidential ranking originated from a LIFE magazine survey of 55 experts.
    Multiple sources confirm that the original 1948 presidential ranking was published by LIFE magazine and based on a survey of 55 historians and experts conducted by Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr.
  5. verified: Trump's updated list omits Ronald Reagan and Harry S. Truman.
    The image provided in the post does not include Ronald Reagan or Harry S. Truman. This omission is noted by several news outlets reporting on Trump's ranking.
  6. false: Trump previously called Ronald Reagan "high quality."
    While Trump has spoken about Reagan, the specific quote "high quality" in this context is associated with a fabricated quote that circulated in 2019. Fact-checkers debunked a similar quote attributed to Reagan about Trump.
  7. verified: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are ranked in the "Great" tier in Trump's list.
    The image provided in the post clearly shows Abraham Lincoln and George Washington in the "Great" tier. This is confirmed by news reports detailing Trump's ranking.
  8. verified: The "Greatest" tier includes Trump.
    The second slide of the Instagram post clearly shows a tier labeled "THE GREATEST" with only Donald Trump's image and name. This is consistent with news reports.
  9. verified: The "Great" tier includes Lincoln, Washington, F.D. Roosevelt, Wilson, Jefferson, and Jackson.
    The second slide of the Instagram post clearly shows the "GREAT" tier includes Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, F.D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson. This is consistent with news reports.
  10. verified: The "Near Great" tier includes T. Roosevelt, Cleveland, J. Adams, and Polk.
    The second slide of the Instagram post clearly shows the "NEAR GREAT" tier includes T. Roosevelt, Cleveland, J. Adams, and Polk. This is consistent with news reports.
  11. verified: The "Average" tier includes Clinton, J.Q. Adams, Monroe, Hayes, Madison, Van Buren, Taft, Arthur, McKinley, Johnson, Hoover, and B. Harrison.
    The second slide of the Instagram post clearly shows the "AVERAGE" tier includes Clinton, J.Q. Adams, Monroe, Hayes, Madison, Van Buren, Taft, Arthur, McKinley, Johnson, Hoover, and B. Harrison. This is consistent with news reports.
  12. verified: The "Below Average" tier includes Tyler, Coolidge, Fillmore, Taylor, Buchanan, and Pierce.
    The second slide of the Instagram post clearly shows the "BELOW AVERAGE" tier includes Tyler, Coolidge, Fillmore, Taylor, Buchanan, and Pierce. This is consistent with news reports.

Sources consulted (30)

Related verifications

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