History Teacher Reacts to Ben Shapiro's Worst Presidents List

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro made a list of his 5 worst presidents in American history. What will Ben's criteria be his selections? Will his criteria be consistent? Will it include modern presidents? Older presidents? Mr. Terry reacts and comments on his list.
Original Video: • America's Worst Presid...
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[@MrTerry]

Who do YOU think are the worst 5 presidents of all time?

[@cervanntes]

Discounting the last 24 years since I am in full agreement that you can't reasonably rate best or worst without at least some degree of temporal distance, I'd probably go with Wilson, A. Johnson, Harding, Buchanan, and maybe Pierce? Not necessarily in that order, although the first four are the four I feel strongest about. I could go with several others in place of Pierce. I know Wilson often ranks pretty high on presidential lists, but I'm firmly in the camp that believes Wilson belongs near if not at the bottom. As far as Shapiro's list goes, the list is just too obviously biased to take too seriously, at least in my opinion. Yeah, we all have our biases, but I don't feel like Ben is even making the slightest token effort to be objective. And while I don't think Carter was a great president, he wasn't a terrible one either. Ben said that "we all remember...." when talking about all the economic problems of the Carter administration which I find amusing since Ben clearly doesn't remember it given he wasn't even born yet. I am old enough that I actually do remember the Carter presidency quite well and I agree with Mr. Terry on most of his observations. A lot of what Carter dealt with was inherited and/or would have required remedies that the American public at the time would never have supported. In fact, I distinctly remember one of the reasons Carter was elected in the first place was because the country had recently come out of Vietnam and Watergate and was just plain tired of overseas wars and corrupt politicians. Many people at that time wanted a good man more than a great president, I think, and that's pretty much what they got. In any case, he tends to bounce around just below the middle on most of the historian surveys I've seen and I feel that's about right. I think as time goes by, we'll see Wilson continue to slide down historian lists (something that's been happening for a while now) and Carter creep up a bit to a more solid position in the middle.

[@Farrighthungarian]

​@@cervanntesbro thinks we are readin allat💀☠🗿👱‍♂️

[@modelmaker101]

the video has been out for 5 minutes and mr terry has a comment 12 hours ago mr terry is a time bender lol

[@ymeynot0405]

I have thought of Ben as a complete idiot after his UK interview. Where he didn't even know that he was talking to the Rush L. of the UK and accused him of being a shill of the left. - If you listen to the video again he didn't remove Trump or Bush because of recentcy bias... he did so as a populist dis at educated historians. Once again, blaming "elites" also know as the best in their field as the problem.

[@riseagain845]

@@cervanntes On the one hand, appreciate the principle behind skipping back a few decades. On the other...can you foresee a future where Donald Trump isn't bottom 5?

[@foxholiday8958]

Ayo, Mr. T, do you remember when you told us we cant have sodas in your class, and a gentleman by the name of Courtland immediately opened a soda and it exploded? Its crazzy to see you have a youtube Chanel, and its doung well, congrats!

[@AceWhitlock_1]

Mr T fits 😂

[@Sammmeow]

I feel it takes at least 20 years to really see the fallout of a presidency

[@Selenkate]

Yeah I typically use 25 years as a soft benchmark, but same ballpark for sure

[@brettleisy356]

that depends on the policy and its implementation. some things can be seen within the first couple months. other things may require much much longer, but much of it can be forecasted.

[@Motherfaulk92]

Idk the fallout of the current administration took atleast about 2 weeks

[@RandarTheBarbarian]

I don't know, some policies have immediate and disastrous repercussions. I don't need 20 years to see how Trump's judicial appointments changed things for the worst, it also didn't take us 20 years to see the lower points of having Bush jr as president although it did take that long to get out of Afghanistan. Reagan had serious issues within his term as well that easily could have been, and were, criticized at the time, but I'll grant you it did take much longer to see how his economic policy would harm working class Americans. It can take a long time to fully understand the consequences of some policy, particularly economic policy, but in particular policy on civil rights, workers rights, and how we engage in foreign affairs can be understood in the very short term. Unless you're the kind of person that would like to argue that, for example, Buchanan's intervention in the dread Scott case was actually good because it threw us into civil war faster, but I don't believe in accelerationist rhetoric because it takes policy that is objectively bad and argues for its merit based on the response.

[@G_Demolished]

@@Motherfaulk92Name 1 thing that falls under what you said.

[@Petrico94]

One president not mentioned was Andrew Johnson. Buchanan did very little to prevent the Civil War and ends up looking bad years after, AJ actively fought against Reconstruction efforts, as Lincoln's replacement he ended up turning back on many of the ideals worked for in the Civil War and fought with Congress constantly even getting a rare impeachment. There's a difference between a president who stays focused on an issue to get what needs to be done and one that is stubborn and pushes too far in one direction. Give Carter some credit for a man not fit for presidency he handled his share of crisis' in the moment rather than foul up building a more stable state after a war.

[@neutral_puma845]

Yess 🙌🏽 I was also very surprised Andrew Johnson wasn’t on the list!

[@ambralemon]

I wonder why the known conservative professional blabber won't include such a figure when at least a third of his audience probably believes Reconstructionists were in the wrong

[@scottbivins4758]

As a southerner I completely 100% agree I wish Lincoln wouldn't have been assassinated even though he is on my list as one of the worst president I think if he wouldn't have been assassinated that could have easily been redeemed. Unfortunately we will never know I feel like if Lincoln would have never been killed Reconstruction would have been a lot more different and I think the South and the rest of the country would understand each other better. But maybe that will happen over time i dont think it will be in my lifetime though.

[@Petrico94]

@@scottbivins4758 Impossible to say how it would have gone with Lincoln directly, but I'd believe giving them everything the southerners wanted contributed to the after effects with free african americans and a continued feeling of resentment. It's been 150 years and the south still lost the war just yesterday.

[@stolenmonkey7477]

I was expecting him to put Andy John when I first watched the video when it came out

[@omalleycaboose5937]

To never even mention Adnrew Johnson here is baffling

[@reverenddick8562]

Too Based for ya?

[@omalleycaboose5937]

@@reverenddick8562 Johnson not Jackson, tho Andrew Jackson also was awful too, Johnson botched reconstruction during the only ti e it had enough norther support to be effective

[@omalleycaboose5937]

@@reverenddick8562 Johnson not Jackson, tho Andrew Jackson also was awful too, Johnson botched reconstruction during the only ti e it had enough norther support to be effective

[@reverenddick8562]

@@omalleycaboose5937 Yea. Jackson. My bad.

[@user-zc4sx9ig6p]

It's because he wasn't elected I would bet

[@Fieryxjoe]

So strange to me that Ben seems so bipolar about wars. Pro-Iran, Iraq, Vietnam (Just thinks we should have gone harder in these), but Anti-WW1. Trashes Obama for not helping Ukraine in 2014 but also trashes Biden for helping them in 2022.

[@91GT347]

There are a few reasons for these. Vietnam, etc, the reason he thinks we should have gone harder, is our troops were held back, in many ways. You can't bomb this, go there, pilots forced to dogfight against planes that were superior in close combat, but were capable of taking them out from miles away. Almost not allowed to win. It is the same as the rest of modern wars. Politics gets in the way. The difference between 2014 and 2022, is mainly the state our country is already in, I would assume. At our current rate of borrowing, we will be 40 trillion in debt in about nine years. We have already had to borrow, to pay the interest on what we have already borrowed, a couple of times. Medicare and SS, is being drained. With no way to replenish it. Yet, they are sending money there, and overspending here too. The only plan is "Tax the rich." Which doesn't help anything. They just find ways around it. Companies raise prices, etc. While Medicare and SS come from paychecks. Millionaires don't get paychecks.

[@captainlamp2.076]

Its a crime Andrew Johnson wasn't on this list.

[@noahremnek3615]

Andrew Johnson, Warren G Harding, James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, and Hebert Hoover are the worst presidents in my opinion.

[@AffectionateMaggot]

Totally agree. He should have been top 3.

[@BethHutch-pg5yi]

indeed!

[@corneliali7747]

@@noahremnek3615Don't forget Andrew Jackson.

[@camerus4460]

@@corneliali7747 The insane Duelist himself, manifesting an imaginary destiny.

[@diegovasquez840]

No Andrew Johnson, no Franklin Pierce, no Warren G Harding?! It’s like this man is not even hiding the fact that he’s a yes man for big business.

[@nrsrymj]

Benji at 1.5x is hilarious

[@riseagain845]

0.75 kind of resembles a normal pattern of human speech.

[@OrangeDied]

eminem been real quiet since sharpie 1.5x speed dropped

[@munkeefinkelbeen5395]

That was at 1.5x? Sounded like his normal speech patterns to me 😂

[@nrsrymj]

@@munkeefinkelbeen5395 no no, put it at 1.5x, it's an absolute hoot

[@cameronnovy3718]

I listen to him regularly, he’s my ‘traditional conservative’ source for news, and I listen at 2x speed every time. Sometimes I do need to slow it down though if he’s citing statistics.

[@TheRisingAnarchy]

I'm not a US citizen so I can't really say a lot but the graph he shows for life expectancy drops down almost exactly when the COVID pandemic started. Struggling to blame that entirely on Obamacare.

[@OrangeDied]

its like he's not even trying, its so funny

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Just a note Obama funded the creation of Covid 19 and It is in the US Patent office under Sars Covid2 with Fauci's name on the patent in 2015. At least Obama realized it was dangerous and forced Fauci to off shore the project to the Wuhan and Ukraine labs

[@Merennulli]

Yep. It hovered between 78.6 and 78.8 for the entire decade, then fell off instantly in 2020.

[@ambralemon]

​@@OrangeDiedhe only seeks to get the support of those who don't care about looking into his videos after all, he isn't spreading information, he's cementifying convictions in his audience

[@RemoraSeifuu]

if ObamaCare did ANYTHING - It raised the prices of insurance through the roof. it was kind of bad.

[@dkkids]

I haven't even seen either video yet, and I'm already yelling "Wilson" - if you hate the IRS, you can thank Wilson.

[@nathanfogel4608]

Bottom 5 in no particular order, I’d say is Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren Harding, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Pierce

[@thatwaterriver3824]

WILSONNNN

[@MrDevtun]

If FDR only served two terms and left office in 1941 - he would likely be lounging in the 4th quartile of presidential lists. Interesting how today there is very little outrage over the internment of Japanese Americans.

[@luke64336]

You're forgetting Joe biden

[@TheRestedOne]

Common core really did a number on people. Harding was multitudes better than Wilson, but everyone had to learn the Teapot Dome to pass US History.

[@tracymiller1149]

Mine would be Trump, Andrew Johnson, Buchanan, Harding, and Pierce.

[@thurley36991]

I don’t mind recency bias within recent. I think its fair to make judgements bias/unbiased, however it’s hard to dictate whether these decisions made will have long term effects. I think it would be reasonable to add someone to the “worst presidents list” at minimum after 4 presidential terms after the time of them leaving office. There is definitely something to be said for inheriting broken houses

[@Petrico94]

The goal is to minimize focusing on current events before seeing their full effect. Especially with how divided people are on the next two candidates and how polarizing they can be. Say Nixon made one of the worst presidents because of Watergate, a betrayal hardly any president has done before. Years after it's still a big stain on his reputation but he also did good with closer ties to China and calmer relations with the Soviets, working towards ending the Vietnam War, setting a timetable to end foreign reliance on oil. Some might say Trump is THE WORST president we've had, maybe he'll still be remembered for his scandals or all of this will just be meaningless, people will still debate how Biden/Hillary would have handled Covid, even if he gets a second term it's hard to predict what he'll do with current or unforeseen events, what congress will do, or what that will look like in 16 years.

[@Humanresouces]

​@@Petrico94Nixon also bombed Cambodia and begin the War on drugs. There are other reasons to hate him just like there is to not.

[@JayLandon64]

Amusing though that he ruled out Trump and Bush II for recency bias but not Obama and Biden. Not that it matters as this, like everything Shebooboo says, is worthless.

[@Nick-Ham]

I don’t believe the Crimean Referendum is highly regarded by anyone and was surprised to hear you say that. May want to dig into that one.

[@da7433]

Ne znam čemu tolika "drama" oko Krima. Krim je do 1954. godine bio u sastavu sovjetske (a pre toga i carske) Rusije skoro 200 godina. Tada ga je Hruščov "poklonio" Ukrajini, znamo svi i zašto. Većina ljudi koja živi na Krimu se i nakon toga idalje izjašnjavala i osećala kao Rusi. 2014. je samo ispravljena istorijska nepravda nastala nelegalnom komunističkom trgovinom teritorijama. Čak i da računamo da bi svi ukrajinci i Krimski Tatari koji su tada živeli na poluostrvu glasali protiv aneksije (što je opet veoma diskutabilno da li bi svi oni glasali protiv), opet bi ruska većina odnela pobedu, doduše sa nešto manjim procentima ali ponovo bi to bilo iznad 50%.

[@Merennulli]

I think he's confusing the fact that UN polls from prior years consistently were in favor of Russian annexation - though in the range of 65-70% depending on the year, as opposed to the 98% the openly falsified Russian-run referendum showed. As frustrating as it is, the pre-invasion polls were UN run and are to be expected after what the Soviet Union did. Their strategy was always to commit a crime against humanity to depopulate an area, then repopulate an area with ethnic Russians. (Same reason they have control over Konigsberg today.)

[@Nick-Ham]

@@Merennulli that’s entirely valid. People use the same justification for the Luhansk and Donetsk invasion and it’s just historically ignorant.

[@Merennulli]

@@Nick-Ham It's even worse with Luhansk and Donetsk as those were majority Ukrainian population areas but magically the "referendum" run by the pro-Russian militant group showed roughly 90% in favor of self-rule (not even Russian annexation). Those had no prior poll results showing it might have been majority sentiment.

[@DavidSimmons42]

And all that's after years of Russia pushing their people to go into those areas so future referendums look favorable to Russia. They play games ordering their folks to move all the time just to then claim an area is more "ethnically Russian" and they should get called out for that more.

[@biggerdoofus]

The moment he starts bringing out stats about the differences between time points over 60 years apart with no mention of the in-between is the moment I give up any sense that he's trying. There's just too much history in those years.

[@bodigames]

Well if you know what’s missing in between let us know buddy.

[@biggerdoofus]

Sure. I can't give a full analysis since I'm not an expert and don't have a budget for targeted research, but I can give an armchair attempt. Wikipedia has a chart sourced by the CDC's National Vital Statistics System that shows both the percentage of unwed child births among black people over time and the same for the nation as a whole. While the percentage for black people increases at a higher rate during the late 60's and early 70's, it seems to increase at the same rate as the nation from the mid 70's to early 90's, where it levels off and zig-zags, failing to increase even as the national percentage continues to rise until the 2010's. The starting percentage for black people is roughly 20% and ends at about %70. The national percentages are stated on the page as 9% and 28%. This can then be compared to the US census data, which lists, by decade from 1960 to 2010, the percent of the population that is black as 10.6, 11.1, 11.7, 12.1, 12.3 and 12.6. Now, this is a very loose calculation, but that means that the black population was likely only responsible for around %6 out of the %19 in national increase (average %12 of the population times %50 of black child births). To me, this suggests that the problem is more national than black, and with the most likely administrations to have affected it being Nixon (increasing the black percentage) and Clinton and Obama (who helped stop the increase). Of course, a more proper analysis would need to look more granularly an see what policies likely matched up with each change, but that's what the post-Johnson possibilities look like.@@bodigames

[@LJ-pi6np]

What was missing was series of major changes in welfare programs and social policy, tax and monetary policy through Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and GW Bush. Think that through. Also, in 2012, economy had not recovered to pre Great Recession levels in 2007 and first half of 2008.

[@theamaeve8175]

​@@LJ-pi6npalso the mass incarceration of black men started with Nixon's War On Drugs which was later ramped up by Reagan to extreme levels

[@reecypeecy9909]

Fair. I wouldn’t put Obama in my bottom 5 (yet) but he’s still a bad president and Obamacare didn’t help that stat like people said it would

[@Fragger_Phrst]

I can respect Mr. Terry’s response at the start. Many people focus on the “sides” and thoughts the person had, when ignoring the actual background and history of it all. Kind of like how is said to be 2-3 years for a presidents policy’s and decisions can truly be seen, statistically and just felt. Along with how another president’s decision can affect 1-2 of their predecessors.

[@Sammmeow]

Thats the thing with US presidents. The one in office when an event happens takes the blame. No matter how long it was brewing.

[@scipioafricanus5871]

I hear what you say about Mr Terry's response at the start. But what about the material that he is reacting to -- I don't think anyone could have asked Mr Terry to react to anything more obscenely biased than Mr Shapiro's Prager U garbage.

[@Humanresouces]

​@@scipioafricanus5871I think Mr Terry is a really nice person who always tries to be reasonable. Unfortunately, not everyone who he reacts to is, and not everyone in his audience is.

[@Humanresouces]

​@@SammmeowIt takes 16 years after the end of a presidency to fully see the consequences.

[@KRIAJK]

@@scipioafricanus5871 So he shouldn't react to someone speaking on history because you personally don't like said person?

[@thejungwookim]

I love how this video encapsulates Ben's brand - fast paced facts, underlying unchecked biases, and wild inconsistencies.

[@ambralemon]

*fast paced "facts"

[@seanharris8419]

And still more honest than mainstream media 🤷‍♂️ 😢

[@avatarwan5824]

​@@seanharris8419 Nah, he's not honest about shit.

[@Yourordinaryuser_]

​@@avatarwan5824 He was right about Obama's trash "recovery" from the financial crisis.

[@avatarwan5824]

@@Yourordinaryuser_ Ben lies about everything. He's right that Obama sucked, but that was because he wasn't radical enough.

[@jd-zr3vk]

He is ignoring the roll of COVID in the reduction in life expectancy.

[@Antonio_Serdar]

Lol

[@bob_jim6584]

A biased Ben who would have thought.

[@Cryptosporidium140]

To be fair has he ever claimed otherwise? Lol he's an influencer, you don't go to Young Turks or left influencers for pure objectively

[@tylarjackson7928]

​@@Cryptosporidium140What side is Young Turks on? I can never tell from their headlines, which I assume is on purpose.

[@PowerLord83]

Hes not really hiding it.

[@justasentientmclarenp1879]

@@tylarjackson7928Left

[@scottbivins4758]

​@@tylarjackson7928dude it is very obvious to tell which side The Young Turks. They are far left. Every once in awhile though Anna has a common sense moment.

[@seanc7342]

My Ten worse 10) Carter 9) Van Buren 8)Tyler 7) Harding 6) Hoover 5)Fillmore 4) Wilson 3) Pierce 2) Buchanan 1) A. Johnson

[@mohsenunknown]

Great way to open your video with the emphasize on learning rather than looking for an echo chamber to hear "what we like are biased about" Subscribed :)

[@dandork20]

The graph used by Ben @9:25 has no x or y axis labeling. Just individual data points.

[@Kurruchi]

y is percent and x is date, the only statistics he mentioned. It's just has no labels for aesthetic. No sources though.

[@dandork20]

@@Kurruchi go Google why x and y axis labels are important. It's a good life lesson.

[@MrGgabber]

It correspondents to literally every poll and survey on race relations, from Pew to yougov to Cambridge. Race relations plummeted with the rise of BLM

[@ethon6668]

@@MrGgabber People perceived that race relations were good. There is a big difference between perception and reality.

[@MrGgabber]

@@ethon6668 race relations are based on perception

[@---ey6hj]

The invention of the cotton gin was a major reason slavery became a big issue. Cotton became so profitable to slaveowners it affected politics back then. It’s also an interesting thought what would’ve happen if the colonies decided to remain separate after the revolutionary war and kept the Articles of confederation

[@schniezelIX]

That life expectancy chart, Ben are you even trying here.

[@noahremnek3615]

10% of someone’s health is correlated with healthcare faculties and prescription drugs. Eating healthy, working out so far more to help someone’s health. Did Obamacare make more Americans healthier? No. Did Obamacare make Americans less healthier? No.

[@someguyonli]

Heavy bias by that gentleman. Facts skewed or omitted.

[@bob_jim6584]

A very common tactic of the right, Partial truths

[@someguyonli]

@@bob_jim6584 you are correct sir.

[@asafatl3296]

Yea like left does not have biases (I am not actually a right winger)

[@simoncohen9323]

​@@bob_jim6584or just a common political tool on both sides

[@oldbean7150]

@@bob_jim6584your a lib so your opinion doesn’t matter

[@DarthRaptor22]

Blaming Carter for the Iranian revolution is so ignorant. Did Shapiro conveniently forget the various interventions of both the Western powers and the Soviet Union dating all the way back to WW2?

[@ShantanuShinde1]

Ya, seeds of Iranian revolution were sowed in the CIA backed toppling of Mossadegh

[@dfmrcv862]

Happened while Carter was president and a lot needs to be said about Carter's actions as the crisis happened.

[@reecypeecy9909]

This situation is a lot like Buchanan and the Civil War (although a much smaller event). A string of former presidents had a lot to do with setting up the climate that allowed that situation but the immediate response by the president was still atrocious and made it worse.

[@TheLeadG]

@@reecypeecy9909couldn’t have been said better.

[@John-bravooo]

What does that have to do with abandoning the Shah? Carter mainstreamed the Islamists. Remember the 100+ interviews given to Khomeni, the unchallenged lies plus endless propaganda against the Shah? Now millions are dead because Carter is a Jew hater.

[@sethledford9612]

So about the Ukraine things, that Referendum was after Russia was in Crimea and those who were anti-russia either fled or didnt feel safe voicing the truth. Also after the USSR fell, Ukraine gave up the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world because US told them that if they give up the nukes we will protect you but if you dint give up the nukes we will turn you into an internstional pariah.

[@MrGgabber]

"Tell Vlad that I'll have more flexibility after the election" -Obama, before Putin went into Crimea

[@user-zc4sx9ig6p]

The UN ones were before 2014

[@johnohm8067]

He has no idea what he is talking about... Ben has no idea

[@unsweetenedit9090]

Yes he does. He knows he's full of crap. He's shameless.

[@Thebettergeorge]

Hello from Mount Vernon

[@breveth]

I haven't figured out if Shapiro is willfully ignorant, woefully uneducated, or malisiously deceptive. He might be them all.

[@thegarfield2414]

He is malisiously deceptive, not ignorant, not uneducated.

[@dominicanemperor28]

DON'T YOU DARE MOCK THE GREAT BEN SHAPIRO, SUPREME HOLDER OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE! /s

[@ambralemon]

Maliciously deceptive. He directly profits off of exploiting the engagement of both his oppositors and his audience (who will not question anything he says since he is saying exactly what they want to hear)

[@MrGgabber]

​@@ambralemondoesn't everyone do that?

[@seanc7342]

​@@MrGgabber Yes every political commentator does that. Pander to their audience's biases past the point of just simply calling balls and strikes and then outrage baits people of other biases because he's not being fair to their side. All generates a shit ton of clicks.

[@napalmblaziken]

Putting Obama here is lunacy. It's way too soon to put him on any of these lists. Personally I'd take out Obama, LBJ, and Jimmy Carter, and put in Andrew Johnson, Warren G Harding, and Herbert Hoover, with honorable mentions to Andrew Jackson and Richard Nixon.

[@mikehancho8930]

As a conservative, I am telling you, he isn't pro-conservative, pro-republican, or pro-libertarian... he is just pro-Israel...

[@zanesy6250]

Anyone who doesnt put Buchanan in their top 5 is instantly discredited.

[@MrGgabber]

He put him 2

[@MattAllison-bz3rc]

Anyone who doesn’t put Woodrow Wilson as the worst is instantly discredited

[@kristaskrastina2863]

@@MattAllison-bz3rc I'd say Andrew Johnson did way more harm. Wilson revived the racial crisis but it was Johnson who started to infinitely kicking that can down the road.

[@avgperson6551]

It did sound like he wanted the US to intervene in foreign affairs. In my opinion, which I’m not supposed to have, the US really should not be meddling in other countries’ affairs. It just makes things worse and breeds animosity.

[@lasagnasux4934]

His theory is that we should never have started intervening in the affairs of other countries, but now that the ketchup is on the sandwich, you have to eat it.

[@wedjet]

Actually you can stay somewhere between isolationism and meddling everywhere. Look to Qing China or Tokugawa Japan for lessons of isolationism.

[@John-bravooo]

Ah so US should ignore Ukraine, withdraw from NATO, stop guaranteeing maritime traffic

[@allenfilmore5725]

I agree that we can’t look at any president from this this century with an unbiased lens.

[@fearfulsuggestion]

The Crimean referendum is highly regarded as illegitimate…

[@apollopegasus9537]

Dude no way you expected Ben top be bipartisan and consistent. Come on all his top worst were all dems and saying bad economy was the previous president's fault when the previous presi was a dem. INCONSISTENT.

[@okxden]

although he isn't completely wrong he isnt completely correct but i think it circles back directly to the problem with modern politics in general. the 2 party system that has controlled our government since the late 1800s is starting to fail. since there is no elected official's that are a 3rd party there will not be any real competition for what is and isn't passed

[@Cryptosporidium140]

He is a conservative influencer like his counterparts (Young Turks and such) so he's gonna mostly appeal to his base which is fine, I watch a decent chunk of Ben and agree with most except few things such as president lists, too much recent stuff but you're not there for far back history so I get it.

[@cp368productions2]

​@@okxdenevery economic crisis was caused by the Republican before the Democrat.

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

That's why your country is doomed ! A divided nation is a fallen nation. And today, Americans agree on nothing. Absolutely nothing. You even have political operatives trying to jail each other's rivals, just like in Brazil. Also the level of vitriol... omg.. I mean there's a right/left rivalry in Europe too, but no way near the level of bad faith and hate I see on US social media.

[@s.henrlllpoklookout5069]

Gotta give Ben credit for calling most historians partisan hacks with a straight face. Also: pot, kettle...

[@JoseFlores-xh5cj]

Non-voter but lean republican, my issue with Shapiro is that his fast-talking irritates me, can't process what he is saying.

[@OrangeDied]

letssayhypotheticallyitalkedatanacceptablerateinthisscenarioanunlikelyscenarioimustadditwouldbeharderformetohidethefactimtalkingoutofmyass

[@austinhuskey2921]

@@Coffeelover697wtf?

[@Cryptosporidium140]

I've never understood this argument, he talks faster ok, but he's not speaking like Eminem in rap God or something. It's not even that hard, maybe English isn't main language I guess

[@lxstcheckll9348]

@@Cryptosporidium140people aren’t prepare for a fast pace talking speed. Also, that could be genetics too, yet in the new-age I believe we will see a rise of fast speaker with efficiency.

[@Petrico94]

My main issue is that half of it is nonsense and hypocritical, so even if you do get what he's saying you just want to punch him.

[@officerbucktuddrussel394]

21:38 It sounded like Ben said Johnson only went into vietnam half-heartedly and that Johnson should have just picked a lane, totally stay out or go all into to overwhelm the enemy and get it over quicker.

[@Alfio420]

Personally, I see the Obamacare argument he made with life expectancy as "It didn't increase" as opposed to "It decreased because of it" although of course, the basis that it would have increased life expectancy could be debated, it makes much more sense as a coherent argument that way, that the way you interpreted it.

[@ambralemon]

Also the dip happens right at the start of COVID, so yes, it would have been wiser for Ben to comment on it stagnating before 2020, but also risky because it was still under Trump's presidency. Especially considering they found out Trump's suggestion of using hydroxychloroquine actually spiked mortality rates for a short while

[@noahremnek3615]

Life expectancy has been plateauing or declining in most of the developed world.

[@theamaeve8175]

Life expectancy peaked in 2019 before falling off to COVID. Furthermore, states which turned down Medicare expansion have the lowest life expectancy

[@noahremnek3615]

@@theamaeve8175 *medicaid

[@meganoob12]

@@theamaeve8175 which is not really surprising is it? If you can't afford the doctor you will think about going twice and probably won't get proper treatment

[@robert3622]

19:19 to my understanding LBJ felt very strongly about civil rights because of growing up in the depression and being around a bunch of Mexicans and Black kids as his peers.

[@jeffslote9671]

LBJ was extremely racist. He only wanted the great society to buy black votes

[@RafaelMorales-2580]

Nahh, he still called them the N word and was actively racist in his rhetoric in private. He just was a great polititian capable of lying to everyone's face.

[@miroo4097]

LBJ quote "I'll have these N****** voting, Democrat for 200 years" on his implementation of the Civil Rights Act. He also sabotaged the Civil Rights at when he was VP, Then when he was President he only implement it after Kennedy's death the Race Riots threatened to get explosive.

[@benjaylehman]

@@RafaelMorales-2580do you have proof?

[@Yourordinaryuser_]

​@@benjaylehman This is literally a known fact. LBJ was notorious for his racism in private.

[@averyspence3983]

I do not claim him as a Libertarian.

[@harmonydavis6784]

Yeah because he's not, I'm not either but I'm married to a libertarian

[@lasagnasux4934]

He's a medium brew republican. He's not as hard right as Michael Knowles, and not as moderate as Andrew Klavan. He's just kinda in between.

[@AffectionateMaggot]

He isn't a Libertarian on foreign policy, that is for sure. How many times did he say he wanted MORE intervention or at least hint at it. Libertarians want *less* interventionism.

[@averyspence3983]

@@lasagnasux4934 I disagree somewhat in the sense that he is not middle of the road in regards to policy. He is firmly a Neocon.

[@harmonydavis6784]

@@AffectionateMaggot And also he's fine with sending aide to some foreign countries which generally libertarians are not

[@robm2007]

he said even if you believe we should have been involved in vietnam, he did not exactly say that is what he believes

[@jacklazzaro9820]

1:51 What did Shapiro say after he mentioned Bush? 9:35 I think he referenced a Gallup pole from 2015 on Race Relations. I had the link earlier, but then KZbin’s algorithm automatically deleted it.

[@Meow_Zedong]

An unbiased Ben Shapiro is an oxymoron lmao

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

Unbiased anyone is basically an oxymoron

[@wedjet]

@@PolitikPolitik-fh2qcSome are significantly less biased than others though.

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

No one is. Anyone you think is less biased is probably someone you agree with who then says some throw away compliment against your own idea or their or pro their opponents. There are levels of biased but even then its subjective on how you view their biased. most things said by someone displays a different level on the spectrum of being biased. @@wedjet

[@wedjet]

@@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc Actually "less biased" means more objective, compliance with fact. When you frame anyone as equally biased, you actually want to say that choosing to agree with a person is just a matter of preference and dismissing the value of fact in discussions, especially politics-related.

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

yes. But more objective just means more facts. This is a very wide open topic. Even "facts" that other would consider is weighted by their own bias on how positive or negative those stats are and how much they weigh in on previous policy or current policy. Theres a reason that Mr Terry talks about recency bias. Becuase until long time have passed it is hard to tell how certain layers effected legislation. And Ben makes a good point on how bias effect certain rankings. Like how many attribute Buchanan to not stopping the civil war thats been brewing for years. But it's really questionable if at that point he could have done anything. Or for others that Mr Terry pointed out that were with other presidents policy. It's subjective on how much the current president would actually be responsible for certain things. And your own bias is going to modify that. ANd you are likely to view your own opinions as less biased. But that doesn't make them more objective. @@wedjet

[@evenodd3339]

Does bush still have recency bias?

[@mbdg6810]

over 20 years is a decent bulge to see effects of a presidency

[@matityaloran9157]

18:50, and those exceptions are 1) pretty major exceptions and 2) even if they weren’t Buchanan doesn’t have those kinds of exceptions in Shapiro’s video so Johnson should still be ranked above Buchanan by Shapiro’s own standards

[@donschiffer7400]

The war on poverty did largely change poverty. It took poverty from being something that potentially could lead to starvation or homelessness to a regrettable situation that rarely results in these things if someone avails themself of government assistance.

[@Tatopotatos]

It also forced the poor and homeless in centralized areas in major cities creating ghetto communities. Which exacerbated the drug problem. LYB is probably top 5 worst president in my list.

[@caseclosed9342]

I like how despite being on opposite sides of the political spectrum Ben Shapiro and Cypher from Cynical Historian both equally hate Wilson. “WILSON!!!”

[@YAH2121]

he was just THAT bad lol both conservatives and progressives hate him

[@Humanresouces]

Is it hard to find out why?

[@LJ-pi6np]

2 things on recovery from Great Recession under Obama. First, it was by far the worst economic downturn since Great Depression, and it almost turned into a depression. Second, long weak recoveries from recessions since the 1980s, and has been bipartisan thing. Second longest and weakest recovery was from 2001 recession under GW Bush, and by some macro measures should have been mildest postwar recession. Economists aren't sure why. Might be that recent recessions have different mix of causes than before, weakening of automatic stabilizers, such as unemployment insurance and min wage to stabilize demand.

[@noahremnek3615]

Hoover, Bush, and Trump also spent money during recessions. None of them are on the list.

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

Not all spending during a recession are equal. Theres also many other factors into what makes the worse president. Like the economy failing under Obama but recovery under trump up until Covid which is mostly unprecedented.@@noahremnek3615

[@Humanresouces]

​​@@noahremnek3615Because Ben Shapiro is a conservative, and most conservative speakers don't judge based on merit. If they did that they wouldn't be conservatives.

[@jasonfisher8689]

You need to react to The History Guy on of these days.

[@IsaacParent]

He's explicitly supporting intervention, he's advocating for strong foreign policy through diplomacy and preventive showings of military superiority.

[@oneangrygeek4575]

You do realize that the Ben Shapiro video is a reaction to the American Political Science Association's ranking of all presidents that put Biden at 14 and Trump dead last, right?

[@mortimerbrewster3671]

If they put Biden at #14 then they have absolutely no standing of any legitimate authority. Carter is thanking Biden for becoming the worst President and knocking Carter from that position.

[@ymeynot0405]

Mr Terry - "Do you guys see a source for anything here?" LOL🤣🤣🤣LOL From Ben Shapiro? He isn't a scholar... he is a talking head. You might as well also ask, "Did he fact check any of this?" The answer is no. Ben once said, "If you don't list a source, then people have no ground from which to argue against you."

[@-scrim]

>> "He isn't a scholar... he is a talking head." 80 IQ comment 💀

[@staticaleel5068]

Funnily enough I’d argue that not citing any source makes it easier to tear you apart because it’s the equivilant of saying “my source is I made it the fuck up” as if we were playing metal gear rising. So no Ben, not citing any sources makes it easier to tear you down, the only upside is we can’t prove you purposely misread your sources, and even then I’m sure we can all tell Ben just made it up.

[@jeffmattes5446]

First President to made a bad decision, that lead us into the Vietnam war, was Truman. Truman gave into French blackmail, and let the French, back into Indochina colonies.

[@sleihbeggey1992]

I think it’s a leap to suggest that criticism of the outcome of intervention is in itself support of intervention.

[@killsomethin]

The fact Mr terry isn’t picking up how all the ex presidents were dems . Priceless .

[@ambralemon]

Pretty sure he just likes leaving obvious details about the bias of these content creators out, I mean, his audience is pretty quick witted all in all due to the very topic of the channel, so maybe he just trusts us to figure the easy non historical stuff out on our own

[@codymcgraugh1444]

try rewatching the first couple minutes when he mentions it.

[@cmike123]

He accurately guessed it in the opening moments before the List.

[@FilmNerdy]

He did mention it at the beginning. I think Mr Terry is trying to do a good job separating his beliefs with what lasting legacy and positive or negative influence a Presidency had as well how much he influenced them. He is way more composed than I could be with Ben Shapiro's partisan ramblings. I have no idea what Mr Terry's politics is but I think like Vlogging Through History (who is a conservative) does a great job.

[@ethanwinnegrad3402]

As somebody who listens to Ben everyday, he is NOT a liberatarian, hes a CONSERVATIVE, and he would be the first one to tell u so. He is only libertarian on some very limited social issues like pot legalization

[@destroyer2417]

the fact he used a 2020 statistic for Obamacare is baffling, its almost like something happened in 2020 to drop the life expectancy, like a worldwide pandemic or something

[@mortimerbrewster3671]

I wouldn't have used life expectancy to slam Obamacare. There are so many other reasons that it is garbage to blame Obama for.

[@bryanhickernell7189]

1 Wilson 2 Andrew Johnson 3 James Bucanon 4 Andrew Jackson 5 is kinda a tossup of a lot of presidents for me

[@KarmasAB123]

I would say saying that Trump is a reaction to Obama is fair except that I would also say that Trump as a reaction is reacting to a lot more, going back decades: an unwritten policy of ignoring what the country actually wants (not saying that Trump was good)

[@meganoob12]

Yeah, Trump wasn't only a reaction to Obama, but also to his own party among other things. Let's remember that Trump was an outsider and no one thought he would actually have a chance. He then presented himself as an outsider... against the "political elite" of the nation The image he created wasn't only a reaction to Obama it was also one to Bush and the other career politicians

[@PsychicWars]

Trump is definitely a reaction, but to more generalized cultural trends.

[@6maniac6metal6]

@@meganoob12 W was a massive L for republicans, so when a young charismatic Obama was elected, for the sake of self preservation conservatives pulled out all the stops in their lying, conspiracies and gaslighting to make him look as bad as possible. When those lies grew a life of their own is what led to the election of "populist" Donald Trump.

[@karljenkinson3143]

Shapiro accuses others of being "partisan hacks", then provides next level partisan hackery.

[@swag31556]

the only side he's partisan for is Israel

[@MrThankman360]

3:40 Every President inherits things. That’s because times flows in one direction. Ya know? You still have to judge a president on his actions. And he didn’t list the Iranian issue as the only thing for Carter, just one of the many he chose to name.

[@kevintessier3760]

I know the video is super old for comments at this point, but Ben's conclusions from that life expectancy chart at 11:20 are wild. Now I don't know what happened to cause a flatline from 2010-2019 or so, but it's worth pointing out that Canada has also experienced that same flatline at the same time, so potentially it's an issue caused by the recession or some other socioeconomic factors. However that drop for 2020 (and seems like the chart is to 2021/2022?) is clearly COVID-19. I know we're a couple of years removed from the pandemic's worst at this point, but it definitely hit hard enough to impact the life expectancy statistics and that was in the news at the time.

[@jaxmike7]

The American Civil War was not inevitable, like Thanos, but would have been difficult to resolve all the issues between the north and the south without armed conflict.

[@nrsrymj]

It was definitely inevitable. Even if the union had just let the Confederacy go, there would have been war over the Western territories.

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

What about the upcoming one ? Is it inevitable between red and blue states in 2030 ?

[@nrsrymj]

@@goofygrandlouis6296 Americans are way too fat for another civil war

[@nrsrymj]

@@goofygrandlouis6296 bud, Americans are way too out of shape for another civil war

[@samualaddams705]

@@goofygrandlouis6296 No and if the US has another Civil War it will not be a state by state thing. It will be local attacks and chaos rather then formal war.

[@silvermikeGA]

It is difficult to do a bottom five instead of say the bottom 20% because individuals score differently even with the same bias. I believe Ben's 5 would be in the bottom 20%.

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

Idk if he claims to be a libertarian but he's very conservative. As for Iraq. Its more of a quick pull out vs a slower pull out. Many believe the quick pull out made a vacuum that is is filled

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

With Vietnam he's saying you don't or you go in harder than he did.

[@jackdelane]

The recentcy bais is a hard one, to say you cant know their true effect till you have historical context is wise, but if you cant make a judgment call till 100 years have gone by its hard to make history at all relate to the present.

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

I mean even then. While some things become set in stone. Many others are still extremely subjective at who is most at fault for certain events.

[@polpol2739]

Ben didnt blame obama for the economy before him, he blamed him for the slow recovery

[@kingace6186]

Still invalid.

[@polpol2739]

Its invalid only if Obama didnt have any other option and the slow recovery wasnt dependent on his actions@@kingace6186

[@martin2289]

Obama's presidency (except for two years) is a case of Republicans' obstructionism blocking everything he tried to get done and then complaining bitterly how economic improvements weren't happening fast enough (e.g., the "slow recovery" meme).

[@Humanresouces]

How in god's name could we have had a better recovery? Give us proposals on how you would have done better.

[@polpol2739]

@@Humanresouces I said it was Bens claim. I corrected the guy in the video who confused about this issue.

[@TnT_F0X]

Any time I see people argue over who was worse... Bush or Obama... I just remember the photo of Young Bush and kid Obama at a BBQ together and remember they're on the same side and this is what they want.

[@mortimerbrewster3671]

All globalist presidents are the worst because they all sell us out.

[@MrGgabber]

Obama literally said Crimea was a "red line", and yes he told Medvedev he would have "flexibility".

[@slaapliedje]

Ha, I’ve seen a couple of your videos, and every time I do, I think “this is good… and now I want to play NBA Jam…”. I did play TMNT earlier…

[@raylopez7992]

Biden is definitely going to make this list in the near future.

[@douglemay7989]

Stinky is number 1 on the worst list.

[@Cugy_2345]

If only you were my history teacher

[@Bulldogg6404]

imagine changing your mind on controversial topics being a sign of a bad person. it's almost like open-mindedness and conceding a losing argument is frowned upon when you're the voice of the people.

[@mdmyer]

Changing your mind when it's convenient for you is a sign of a bad and opportunistic person. If they truly changed their mind, then I guess that's a good thing.

[@Bulldogg6404]

@@mdmyer my only point was that changing your mind does not inherently make you a bad person. You seem to agree with me on that.

[@Humanresouces]

Because when politicians do that they get insulted and called flip floppers. Reap what you sow as they say.

[@kevinhickey4889]

It seems obvious that he constructed this list so he could purposely reinforce his personal opinions about a couple of them and then add a couple that are universally seen as bad so that his list would seem less biased.

[@ScottyWiard]

No Andrew Johnson or Jackson? That’s surprising.

[@LJ-pi6np]

Life expectancy across nations is highly correlated with how well countries contained covid pandemic, and their planning to preserve quality of care for non-covid conditions through and after pandemic. US was mediocre at first and abysmal at second, and it was bipartisan effort for failure. GW Bush made big and high quality effort at pandemic planning and preparedness, which decayed afterward, even liberal me gives GW big credit for that.

[@cobracommander8133]

Declining life expectancy in the USA is due to the despair caused by the opiod crisis and de-industrialization.

[@LJ-pi6np]

I agree on opiod crisis.

[@dontwanadisplaynameonutube2951]

Criteria was pretty much economics, racial division, and whether or not they had an influence on wars. Which was stuck to pretty good.

[@ShaquanVirse]

Andrew Johnson should've been on this list

[@mastoner20]

I like how he says he won't do recent presidents, and then includes two living presidents. Like, to me, a living president hasn't quite had enough history unfold to truly show the effects of their policies. People love to complain about presidents failing their economies, but yet, almost no economic policy really truly changes the standing of the national economies specifically during their tenure.

[@codymcgraugh1444]

Jimmy Carter is still alive today

[@PolitikPolitik-fh2qc]

Well I disagree that living matters. And I don't think he said he wouldn't do recent presidents. Mr Terry said that but I don't think Ben said that

[@TheRestedOne]

10:15 I believe the bailouts were welcomed by few people, if any. It was a lifeline to major corporations that were not given a proper burial and instead were infused with political influence. I think Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to this event as one of the few defining moments in our recent political history where both the Left and the Right managed to briefly unify around the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements, before both spiraled out of control and collapsed under their own anarchic weight. I would actually point to this moment that birthed Donald Trump as that reactionary, populist candidate for 2016.

[@cliffordpfaff3619]

I think a better title for his video would be “Worst Presidencies” focusing on the years and not the person.

[@Jagstosupabowl]

He forgot Herbert Hoover

[@MrTim2031]

This is a good analysis of Shapiro’s video. I think you are right about Obama’s inclusion, it’s too recent. It is possible that he included him for controversy’s sake

[@joelgraham6820]

Shapiro included Obama because he is playing to his base supporters who put the money in his pocket, and it's convenient to ignore the two fronts, Iraq and Afghanistan, that Bush entered the US into war, and the huge recession also started under Bush's tenior as president. I'm just surprised that Shapiro didn't try to shoe horn Clinton into his list as well.

[@granthardy5897]

Assuming intervention is the only way to stop bad things from happening is simplistic

[@beatleplayer1011]

Bottom five are probably Polk, Pierce, Buchanan, Wilson and Reagan, but I didn’t think toooo deeply about this

[@luciffer420]

30 to 50 yrs would be long enough to cast a opinion on this subject.

[@MalikF15]

Ya Ben’s take on modern day figures is recency bias. But Carter should be in the bottom 10. Also no mention of Andrew Johnson

[@munkeefinkelbeen5395]

Yeah, Jackson was horrible. But I'm not too surprised, as Ben's political biases align pretty closely with Jackson (Ben is ridiculously Zionist)

[@KarlaWhite_Karlajkitty]

LOL Mr. Terry's facial expressions 🤣

[@grumpyguy2215]

Fairly accurate. I like your dialogue but you also missed several keywords in his discrimination that made or leaned toward the point you made in dispute.

[@otr-mtbandfitness]

I just don’t see how FDR is off the list. I mean Carter can get bumped to honorable mention.

[@officerbucktuddrussel394]

12:00 I think it is just an example of a pet project failing. Not so much that obama care actively decreased life expectancy but that life expectancy overall dropped during the time of obama care.

[@matthewhawkins1472]

I think it requires time/distance for the true judgement of a president and effects of their policies long term… at least 25 years after they leave office. For instance I don’t think the historical outlook on the Biden administration will be kind, it would probably be better put into a historical context in the future.

[@TheOneTonHammer]

There is something importnt to recency. Presidents have more power now over a growing population affecting a lot more people. Mistakes are amplified because of this.

[@johnpaul4597]

I know for the longest time Franklin Pierce was considered to be one of the worst presidents.. His own party did not even allow him to run again. Another cool fact is that he is a ancestor of George Bush Via his mother, Barbara, whose maiden name is Pierce.

[@johnpaul4597]

@croatiangambler8059 He couldn't be her cousin. He lived quite a few years before her. He died in eighteen sixty nine. He would be her ancestor considering he lived several generations before she was ever born. That is quite literally the definition of ancestor.

[@johnny-becker]

I've always viewed Buchanan as the worst president since, while some president's policies, both before and after, got us close to a civil war, including our current president, Buchanan's policies actually led to a civil war

[@boganwillyard6037]

Well I think his point was that he didn't start any wars.

[@cobracommander8133]

Oh the DRAAAAA-MAAAA!!!!!!

[@Dave-zl2ky]

The first President Johnson must be on the list. Ben forgot to mention Nixon. I lived through every day of that hell.

[@meatyo]

Do you remember that well?