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

Screenshots of Jessica Tarlov and Emily Compagno; Abdul El-Sayed
Fox News; Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Jessica Tarlov Has Perfect Clapback After Fox News Co-Host Criticizes Abdul El-Sayed For Not Being A 'Practicing Physician'

Fox News host Jessica Tarlov had the perfect response to her colleague Emily Compagno after Compagno complained that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is not a "practicing physician."

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist who campaigned on expanding healthcare access, strengthening the economy, and ending unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, became the first progressive to win a statewide primary in a state carried by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. He is set to face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers during next month's midterms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth; Gavin Newsom
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Just Threw Out A Bunch Of Absurd Slurs While Talking About Transforming The Military—And Gavin Newsom Clapped Back Hard

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Hegseth delivered a slur-filled speech about who he's trying to bar from U.S. military service.

Speaking at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth claimed that the Trump administration's cultural reimagining of the nation's armed forces has been a grand success. But, as evidenced by what he told those in attendance, this "success" was only possible because the Department of Defense has made no secret of excluding certain groups.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tom Holland; Florence Pugh
Jeff Spicer/ Getty Images for Sony Pictures; NBC

Florence Pugh Revealed That Tom Holland Is The Reason She Appears In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'—And We Love To See It

Florence Pugh has built a career on scene-stealing performances, but her latest Marvel appearance came with one particularly flattering endorsement: Spider-Man himself.

While promoting her latest historical drama, East of Eden, Pugh stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she was asked about her surprise appearance as Yelena Belova in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kelsgordon's TikTok video
@kelsgordon/TikTok

Woman Reveals The Fallout After She Caught Her Sister's Fiancé Cheating Just 2 Hours Before Their Wedding

Some people would rather live in a state of oblivion than know the truth.

TikToker @kelsgordon realized her sister was one of those people when she discovered, just two hours before her sister's wedding, that her sister's fiancé had a whole other romantic relationship in the works—and she intended to go ahead with the wedding anyway.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @maddieogle10's TikTok
@maddieogle10/TikTok

Woman Shares The Biggest 'Red Flags' That A Friendship Is Ending—And TikTokers Are Sounding Off

Most of us have experienced a friendship coming to an end, and while it sometimes comes as a surprise, we can usually look back and see some signs that the end was near.

TikToker @maddieogle10, for example, believes that it's obvious that a friendship is coming to an end when something starts to feel off or like the friend is losing interest.

Keep ReadingShow less