Living presidents of the United States Living presidents of the United States This article shows the variation in the number of living presidents of the United States from the inauguration of the first president of the United States in 1789 until the present. The following table includes all persons who have taken the presidential oath of office. (Persons who served as Acting President of the United States or as President of the Continental Congress are not included.) Currently, in addition to the incumbent, Donald Trump, there are four living former presidents: Jimmy Carter (1977–1981), Bill Clinton (1993–2001), George W. Bush (2001–2009), and Barack Obama (2009–2017). Number
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