Historical rankings of presidents of the United States former director of the University of Maryland's African American Leadership Institute, stated that Presidents ranked by how each one balanced the interests of majority interests and the interests of excluded groups was practical in respect to American debate on racial politics. Presidents have traditionally been ranked on personal qualities and their leadership ability to solve problems that move the nation in a positive direction. Walters stated there was a qualitative difference between white and African American intellectuals in evaluating presidents. In the 1996 "New York Times" poll by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 31 white historians and one black historian ranked
Portraits of Presidents of the United States or two years to be finished. Presidents often display the official portraits of other presidents whom they admire in the Oval Office or elsewhere around the White House, loaned from the National Portrait Gallery. On March 27, 2018, President Donald Trump signed Public Law 115-158 which prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for an official portrait of any federal official or officer, including the President, the Vice President, a Member of Congress, the head of an executive agency, or the head of an office of the legislative branch. Since most recent presidential portraits have been privately funded, this