Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Pew Poll Asked Who The Best President Of Your Lifetime Is, and the Results Are Basically Donald Trump's Nightmare

Pew Poll Asked Who The Best President Of Your Lifetime Is, and the Results Are Basically Donald Trump's Nightmare
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 10: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks while meeting with President-elect Donald Trump (L) following a meeting in the Oval Office November 10, 2016 in Washington, DC. Trump is scheduled to meet with members of the Republican leadership in Congress later today on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Ouch.

Make us preferred on Google

American voters picked Barack Obama as the best president "in their lifetimes" according to a new Pew Research Center Poll released on Wednesday.


In a survey of 2,002 voters conducted from June 5-12, 31% said Obama had "done the best job in their lifetimes." Forty-four percent of respondents chose the 44th president as their first or second favorite.

By contrast, only 10 percent of participants chose President Donald Trump, who begins his 18th month in office next Friday, as the best president in their lifetimes. Twelve percent ranked him as the second best.

"Not yet halfway through his term, 19% say Donald Trump has done the best or second best job of any president of their lifetimes," Pew wrote.

President Bill Clinton received a 33 percent share of the vote, and Ronald Reagan landed in third place with 32 percent across both categories.

As for which president was number one, the poll showed 31 percent for Obama, 21 percent for Reagan, and 13 percent for Clinton.

Trump didn't fare all that well among Republicans, with only 40 percent ranking him as their top pick, compared to 57 percent who chose Reagan.

In contrast, 71 percent of Democratic respondents said Obama was the best president in their lifetimes, with Clinton in second place with 49 percent.

Forty-six percent of Millennials placed Obama in the top spot, while only 12 percent gave Trump the same honor.

Reagan dominated among the baby boomer and retirement generations, with 27 percent and 23 percent favorability, respectively.

The Twitterverse shared its reactions to the poll, with jabs at Trump and happy Obama memes being among the most common commentary.

Per Pew:

The analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted June 5-12, 2018 among a national sample of 2,002 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (502 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1,500 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 998 who had no landline telephone).

The poll had a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.

More from People

Taylor Swift; Dolly Parton
Rich Polk/Billboard/Getty Images; The Recording Academy/Getty Images

Taylor Swift Dedicates Her VMA For Video Of The Year To 'Ultimate Showgirl' Dolly Parton In Moving Speech

Taylor Swift has been sweeping headlines in the past few weeks, between becoming a popular internet meme while cheering on her husband and releasing four new songs for a deluxe "Encore" edition of The Life of a Showgirl.

After appearing at the MTV VMAs and winning Video of the Year for her song, "The Fate of Ophelia," she's the talk of the town again, thanks to making a very special dedication.

Keep ReadingShow less
Matt Gaetz; Screenshot of Robbie G. Smither
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Matt Gaetz Epically Dragged After Begging Lifelong Florida Republican Not To Vote For Dems Who Want To 'Trans Your Kids'

Former Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz was widely mocked after he made a transphobic claim about Democrats in response to remarks from X user and lifelong Florida Republican Robbie G. Smither, who earlier shared a video about why he's voting Democrat for the first time in his life.

In his post, Smither criticized President Donald Trump when he announced that "when I vote for a Democrat, [Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly], for the first time in my 41 years of life this November, it will not be because my values have changed, but because my party has abandoned our values for the sycophancy of a transactional leader who has none."

Keep ReadingShow less
Oreo’s viral spelling joke sparks a hilarious response from Merriam-Webster.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Oreo Just Made A Hilariously False Claim About Their Name—And Merriam-Webster's Response Is All Of Us

Oreo versus Merriam-Webster? That's one feud nobody had on their 2026 bingo card. But apparently, all it takes to start a fight with the dictionary is one questionable spelling lesson.

The cookie chaos went down on September 21, when Oreo decided that an old AI blunder deserved a second chance at internet fame.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mother, baby, and husband at San Francisco Giants game
NBC Sports Bay Area

Giants Fan Called Out After Video Of His Selfish Behavior At Game While Partner Carries Food And Baby Goes Viral

A video has gone viral that perfectly demonstrates what married women mean when they say they feel like they are a "single married mom."

At a San Francisco Giants game, a family of three was caught on camera, the woman with her arms full of food, a diaper bag, and her baby, while her husband watched her but did not help with her load.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Glee' original cast
FOX Image Collection via Getty Images

Ryan Murphy Just Confirmed That A 'Glee' Reboot Is In The Works—And The Internet Is Spiraling

Glee fans, rejoice! After years of requesting, hoping, and praying, a reboot appears to be in the works!

Ever since the musical comedy-drama ended, fans have been hoping for either a reunion episode or a full reboot, and now, it sounds like they may just be getting their wish.

Keep ReadingShow less