PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Who is the worst president in the history of the United States? It depends who you ask.
Some may name Donald Trump or Richard Nixon, but most historians will undoubtedly say James Buchanan.
His refusal to outwardly take sides on slavery and indifference toward the onset of the Civil War kind of makes him the worst, at least according to Robert Strauss.
“So you got the slavery issue, you got the result of the slavery issue, and then you got Buchanan doing everything wrong,” he said.
Strauss is the author of “Worst. President. Ever.: James Buchanan, the POTUS Rating Game, and the Legacy of the Least of the Lesser Presidents.”
On paper, Buchanan made for an excellent president, Strauss said. He served in the Pennsylvania Legislature, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, and in James K. Polk’s presidential administration.
But in practice, not so much. He allegedly influenced the Dred Scott decision, which stated that an enslaved person living in a free state did not entitle them to their freedom.
“Half of America thinks George Bush is the worst president ever and the other half thinks Obama is, but neither of them started the Civil War,” he said.
Strauss takes a deep dive into Buchanan’s presidency, the story of love and loss, and what made him the worst on the most recent episode of KYW Newsradio In Depth.
Listen to the full conversation in the player below, on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.