'Wow': Jim Acosta jolted by expert's grim prediction for Trump

Political forecaster Larry Sabato delivered a grim verdict on President Donald Trump's place in history this week, and Jim Acosta didn't hide his reaction.

Appearing on "The Jim Acosta Show" with about 80 days left before the November midterms, Sabato, the University of Virginia Center for Politics director whose Crystal Ball has moved Senate seats toward Democrats, predicted historians would rank Trump dead last among American presidents.

"You're going to have Donald Trump in last place, not second to last, not third to last, last place for all time," Sabato said, pointing to the survey of scholars conducted after each presidency.

"Wow," Acosta replied, before running through the presidents who might be spared the bottom rung. "And that gives, what, James Buchanan a break? Who gets a break out of that?"

Sabato named Warren Harding and Richard Nixon, and noted that Ulysses S. Grant presided over a corrupt administration. But he argued Trump stands apart, adding that "Nixon really was almost, not completely, a choir boy compared to Donald Trump."

The prediction comes as Trump's approval sits at 33 percent in the latest Economist/YouGov poll, the lowest of either of his terms. Sabato, a frequent Trump critic, has argued the president is dragging his party toward a rough midterm.

Acosta, the former CNN anchor who now hosts an independent show, embraced the prediction rather than pushing back. He returned to it in his closing remarks, telling viewers he did not think it a "stretch" to say historians would agree "from here on out that Donald Trump was the worst president of all time."