Trump Is Second Best US President In Past 40 Years, Say Republicans

KEY POINTS

37% of Republicans named Trump as the top president of the past four decades
Trump won against Reagan among Republicans who have not completed college
Obama was still named the best recent president overall

Donald Trump has been named one of the best U.S. presidents over the past 40 years, trailing just behind Ronald Reagan in a new poll.

Roughly 42% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents named Reagan, who served as president from 1981 to 1989, as the best president in the past four decades. Following him was Trump who 37% of Republicans and Republican-leaning participants said did the best job as head of state, a new survey by Pew Research showed.

At least 40% of Republicans who have not attended or completed college named Trump as the top recent president versus 38% who named Reagan. However, the latter secured a wide margin (51% vs. 29%) against Trump among Republicans who graduated college.

Across party lines, 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents named Barack Obama as the best U.S. president in modern history. Only 5% named current President Joe Biden, who is set to complete his first year in the Oval Office next month.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Democrats between the ages of 18 to 29 said Obama was the top president over the past 40 years. Across races, 69% of Black Democrats, 64% of Asian American Democrats and 56% of Hispanic and White Democrats also named Obama.

Overall, the 44th U.S. President was considered the best recent president by 35% of the poll’s participants, 6% of whom were Republicans.

Seven presidents have served over the last 40 years, including Obama, Reagan, Trump, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Biden.

The poll results come after Trump left office in January with a 41.1% average job approval rating, the lowest of any president of the last 75 years. His job approval rate sank after a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while Congress was counting electoral votes.

The House also voted to impeach Trump a week after the riot, making him the only president to be impeached twice.

But despite the events at the Capitol riot, 69% of Republicans are still standing behind Trump for a 2024 presidential run, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll conducted Dec. 11 to 13.