The most divisive U.S. presidents, ranked by political scientists

By Joal Ryan
Published: 05:16 PM April 27, 2020
Cheriss May/NurPhoto/Getty Images (left); Drew Angerer/Getty Images (right)

America divided

Who is the most polarizing U.S. president of all time? 

More than 300 political scientists — all members of the American Political Science Association's Presidents & Executive Politics section — answered that question for a survey published by the Brookings Institution

Click ahead to see 30 U.S. presidents, from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Barack Obama to Donald Trump, and how the experts ranked them, from least polarizing to most polarizing. 

(Note: The 15 presidents not listed in this rundown, including George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, were essentially judged by the political scientists to be non-polarizing.)