A new survey done by the Pew Research Center shows that 44 percent of Americans believe that Former President Barack Obama is the best president of their lifetime.
According to the survey, 62 percent of Millenials named Obama as best or second best president while 41 percent of “Gen Xers” (ages 38-52) favor Obama over any other president. “Gen Xers” mostly favored Republican former President Ronald Reagan who has 45 percent of their support.
The survey was conducted between June 5-12 of this year, and asked just over 2,000 adults. President Obama, President Reagan and President Clinton were the most mentioned of any president.
Current President Donald Trump who is now at the halfway mark of his first term wash chosen as the best president by 19 percent of those surveyed.
President Clinton, although still heavily mentioned as one of the best presidents has seen a sharp decline in since the study was last conducted. In 2011, President Clinton stood at 49 percent while Obama had 20 percent, comparable to Trump’s 19 percent at about the same point in their terms.
Since leaving office, Obama has more than doubled his likability while Clinton has dipped below the Obama as the favorite Democratic President.
Toward the end of his term and post-presidency, President Obama saw a sharp spike in his approval rating as the current Commander-in-Chief began to rollback Obama-signed legislation including the Affordable Care Act which gave millions of Americans healthcare coverage.
Following the White Supremacist rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Obama’s response on Twitter became the most liked tweet in Twitter history, which could be a clear reflection of his likability post-presidency.
Compare that to an objectively lackluster response by Trump who failed to call out racism and xenophobia in a press conference following the incident that resulted in one fatality.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” Trump said in his press conference after the incident.
You can check out the full study here.
