President Donald Trump tops the list of presidents that Americans consider the worst since World War II – followed by his predecessor, wrote dailymail.co.uk.

A strong plurality of 41 per cent lists Trump as the worst U.S. president since the war, when asked to chose from the list of the nation's leaders from Truman although through Obama and his own tenure, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

He was followed by Barack Obama, who got picked as the worst by 21 per cent – a sign that recent administrations were foremost in respondents' minds.

Yet Obama was also the second 'best' president, picked by 24 per cent, and trailing Ronald Reagan, who was selected by 28 per cent. 

But Trump also fared okay when voters were asked to name the best presidents in the era – coming in fifth, with 7 per cent naming him the best, close behind John F. Kennedy.

The poll comes out a day after Trump defended the turmoil in his White House on the day chief economic advisor Gary Cohen announced his resignation. Trump told reporters he likes to have conflict among his advisors, as markets dropped on word of Cohn's departure.

It also came as Trump was buffeted by reports that former porn star Stormy Daniels is suing to try to get relief from a non-disclosure agreement that earned her a $130,000 payment from Trump's longtime personal lawyers.

Another predecessor, George W. Bush, whose term was dominated by the Iraq war Trump calls a disaster, said all the chaos is making him look 'pretty good.'

'Bush is often heard to remark, unable to stifle his trademark smirk" "Sorta makes me look pretty good, doesn't it,'" National Journal reported, citing a Republican source aligned with the current White House. 

On the 'worst' list, Trump is the leader, followed by Obama and Richard Nixon – who resigned after Watergate – at 10 per cent.

Nixon is followed by Jimmy Carter, who was picked by 8 per cent, and George W. Bush, who was picked by 6 per cent. 

Trump's approval rating was at 38 per cent in the survey.

His poor performance in the pool comes in contrast to his own constant expressions of his own historic achievement.

Trump told reporters in West Virginia last month that retiring Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch had called him the greatest president in history. Hatch had lavished praise on him during the signing of a $1.5 trillion tax cut. 

'Orrin is—I love listening to him speak ... he actually once said I'm the greatest president in the history of our country and I said, 'Does that include Lincoln and Washington?' He said yes. I said, 'I love this guy,' Trump said.

'President Donald Trump's best card, perhaps his only card, remains the economy where he is close to break-even. He's tanking on foreign policy and he draws even more fire on his handling of Russian President Vladimir Putin," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.