POTUSRECORDThe office changes.THE QUESTION BEHIND EVERY PRESIDENCY
Official U.S. records. Compare growth, prices and unemployment. Choose first, then reveal the president.
No account · No overall score · Your judgment
12 completed terms · 1977–2024
BEA & BLS · No overall score
Real records. Anonymous letters.
The same records continue when you begin.
Equal four-year windows. The same official data for every president. Why these years?
Explore individual measuresEvery measure ranks all twelve terms the same way. The verdict is yours.
Trump II · Day 661 of 1,461 45% of the term
Comparable observations
Compare complete windows with inherited conditions in view. Trump’s current term is incomplete and stays outside the completed-term ranking. The years 2–4 option tests sensitivity; it does not allocate credit between presidents.
Read the full comparison| Rank | Term / years measured | Annualized growth | Total change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997–2000 | +4.4% | +19.0% |
| 2 | 1985–1988 | +3.8% | +16.2% |
| 3 | 2021–2024 | +3.6% | +15.3% |
| 4 | 1993–1996 | +3.3% | +13.9% |
| 5 | 1977–1980 | +3.2% | +13.6% |
| 6 | 1981–1984 | +3.1% | +12.9% |
| 7 | 2013–2016 | +2.4% | +9.7% |
| 8 | 2001–2004 | +2.3% | +9.6% |
| 9 | 1989–1992 | +2.2% | +9.2% |
| 10 | 2005–2008 | +2.1% | +8.6% |
| 11 | 2017–2020 | +1.5% | +6.0% |
| 12 | 2009–2012 | +1.0% | +3.9% |
Annualized growth is the compound yearly rate between annual GDP levels. Ranks use the displayed 0.1-point precision; “=” marks a tie.
2025: +2.3%. Only one annual observation is available in this edition. Excluded from completed-window ranks; 2026–2028 are not filled with forecasts.
Annual-average real GDP levels, not annualized quarterly growth or Q4-to-Q4 growth. Calendar windows include the January handover. Inherited policies, Congress, the Federal Reserve and external shocks can affect later outcomes. GDP alone does not identify a president’s causal contribution. The current GDP article edition uses the September 30, 2026 source update; April 9 remains selectable for earlier links. The source edition beside the values controls which observations are shown.
CHOOSE THE QUESTION
Each subject has its own coverage. Read the result, the inherited conditions and the limits of presidential attribution.
Read the comparison method“Best” depends on the question. Economic measures use their own defined, completed windows. Diplomacy compares selected dated case studies through the same evidence questions.
Our GDP series covers Carter through Biden, with Trump’s second term shown separately. Household income extends to Nixon and the shared Nixon/Ford window. Lincoln and Kennedy are historical figures in the opening illustration; they are not included in these economic comparisons. Claims, promises and military records each state their own coverage.
Evaluate liberal democracy and constitutional liberty, Christian heritage and religious freedom, limited government, military strength and U.S. sovereignty. Read the legal record and examine the effects on freedom, safety and national interests.
CURRENT ADMINISTRATION / UNDER SCRUTINY
Explore 24 major themes, the measure behind each number and the limits of the comparison. Announcements and achieved outcomes remain distinct.
Examine claims & resultsDIPLOMACY & SECURITY
Compare selected historical and current presidential case studies in freedom, rule of law, security cooperation and peace. Read the goal, action, established result and open questions, then follow the current briefs and regional map.
Compare presidents on diplomacy & securityPRESIDENTS & CONGRESS
Read every midterm from 1934 through 2022: president-party House seats and separate House and Senate control outcomes, with official sources and visible limits. In 2026, the president’s party lost both the House and the Senate in Associated Press race calls; the final House seat count is still pending.
READER BALLOT No. 001 OPEN WORLDWIDE
Americans are split over who gets to vote. Here, every reader gets a ballot — and America’s answer is counted beside the world’s.
Supporters say
Only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections. Proof at registration and photo ID at the polls make sure of it.
Opponents say
Eligible citizens without a passport or birth certificate at hand would find it harder to register, and some would not vote at all.
Both sides are counting. Add your ballot — and your country.
The House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, 218–213 on February 11, 2026. It would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, require photo identification to cast a ballot and direct states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. On March 26, 2026, a Senate motion to end debate on its voter-ID amendment failed 53–47; ending debate requires 60 votes.
What the bill does, where it stands and the full poll
Unscientific reader poll: results reflect readers who chose to answer, not the U.S. public. One ballot per reader. We keep the two answers, the country and U.S. state Netlify reports and a one-way code made from the connection — no city, names, emails or raw IP addresses.
The ballot is open in all 50 states and D.C.
Official releases describe an administration’s own record. We separate those claims from calculations, label missing evidence and expose each comparison’s limits. Read our method
Help shape the record
We’re continually expanding POTUS RECORD. Which presidential achievements or comparisons should we add? What accomplishments matter most when judging the greatest U.S. presidents? Share your suggestions—links to official sources are welcome. Suggestions are private editorial input. We’ll review them and add records supported by official sources.
Prefer email? Send suggestions or corrections to suggest@potusrecord.com. Suggestions and corrections are reviewed privately by POTUS RECORD and are not posted publicly.
Presidential language, official records, and the questions they raise. Each card also includes labeled advertising from the publisher or a related company.
01 / INFORMATION & TRUST
What makes a claim worth trusting?
The Trump White House launched a Media Bias portal to challenge reporting it describes as fake news.
White House announcement / December 1, 2025 (opens in a new tab)An administration's label is not independent proof. Trace each claim to its original source and supporting evidence.
02 / VOTING & VERIFICATION
Can the process be independently checked?
President Trump’s March 31, 2026 order called for citizenship verification and prioritized investigations of election-related violations.
Executive Order 14399 · §2 (PDF) / March 31, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Issuing an order does not establish that fraud occurred or that its provisions are in effect. Claims require case-specific evidence.
03 / INNOVATION & CONTROL
Greater capability. What authority to act?
Trump’s September 29 order presents SI as a frontier of American innovation and directs agencies to replace the term AI in official communications, to the extent permitted by law.
White House SI order · §§1–3 / September 29, 2026 (opens in a new tab)The naming change does not establish technical superintelligence. A separate safety question remains: what may an AI execute, physically actuate or resume?
Publisher & advertising disclosurePOTUS RECORD is published by WisdomLink Studio Inc. Advertisements in this section promote the publisher’s own initiatives and those of WisdomLink Inc., a related company. These patent-application and design-IP initiatives are under development. They are not government-endorsed or performance-certified, and are not used to validate or score presidential records.
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