Edward Luce: “One measure of what stunts America’s left — and western globalists in general — is faith in ‘the arc of history’. In spite of all that has happened, Barack Obama is still wedded to the phrase. The future is on our side, he believes — even if the present is stampeding the other way.”

“Donald Trump is purging every vestige of Mr Obama’s legacy. From the Iran nuclear deal to post-racial America, he is the incinerator-in-chief. It is thus reassuring to know that he is destined for history’s ash heap. Mr Trump may not be aware of his fate but educated people are.”

“Alas, the problem with the long run is that it can take a long time to come. Lots of stuff can happen in between.”

A new Quinnipiac poll finds that 41% of Americans think Donald Trump is the worst of the 13 presidents who have served since the end of World War II, followed by 21% who list Barack Obama and 10% who cite Richard Nixon.

Looking at the best president since 1945, 28% say Ronald Reagan, while 24% list Barack Obama, with 10% each for Bill Clinton and John Kennedy.

Said pollster Tim Malloy: “In 73 years, 13 men have governed from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and none of them have done so with less admiration from the American people.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating is a dismal 56% to 38%.

Former Nixon speechwriter David Gergen told CNN that President Trump’s erratic tweeting “reminds me very much of the last days of President Nixon when he became deeply, deeply insecure, lashed out in all sorts of ways and didn’t remain focused on the job at hand. But this, I’m afraid, has been President Trump’s pattern for some time.”

He added: “I don’t know why he is so insecure. It certainly suggests that as Mueller closes in more, that there is he very much does not want us to know, and he is very afraid that Mueller is going to get there.”

The New York Times surveyed 170 political scientists and found that President Trump is currently ranked as the worst U.S. president in history.

President Trump claimed that the 45.6 million people who watched his State of the Union address was “the highest number in history.”

However, the president’s claim is not backed up by Nielsen’s numbers, which show Barack Obama at 48 million viewers in 2010, George W. Bush at 51.7 million in 202 and Bill Clinton at 45.8 million in 1994.