Americans View Barack Obama More Favorably Than Joe Biden And Donald Trump, Poll Says
A Fox News poll released Friday reveals that former President Barack Obama is viewed more favorably than President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Newsweek reported.
In particular, 68 percent of individuals surveyed viewed Obama favorably and 35 percent viewed him unfavorably. Meanwhile, 48 percent saw Biden favorably, and 46 percent viewed him negatively. Finally, 43 percent held a favorable view of Trump, and 55 percent viewed him unfavorably.
In a 2018 Pew Research Center Poll, Obama topped the public’s list as the best president in their lifetime, with 44 percent of respondents selecting him as their top choice. Behind Obama were former presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. Elsewhere, in a 2018 Gallup retrospective, Obama gained the approval of 63 percent of respondents, putting him in fourth place behind George H.W. Bush, Reagan, and John F. Kennedy.
Despite his high favorability and approval, Obama is not eligible to run for president again. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped him from playing a more prominent role in the current election in recent months. According to reports, Obama slammed the Trump administration’s coronavirus response during a private conference call, calling it “an absolute chaotic disaster.” He also took a veiled jab at Trump and his administration during a virtual commencement address earlier this month.
Although Obama previously took a backseat to the current election, former Republican Rep. Tom Davis claimed that his recent shift is a reflection of the increasingly partisan nature of politics.
“That is what people used to do and I think it is an example of how politics has just gotten more polarized and more partisan and this is a reflection of that.”
Concern about getting the coronavirus is down 15 points from April. And Trump approval is down on handling the virus is down 4 points even as his overall/economic approval remains constant. pic.twitter.com/UQkWYs2nHG
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) May 22, 2020
As reported by Simon Constable in Forbes, despite facing criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s approval ratings top those held by Bush and Obama at the same point during their first term in office. Constable pointed to a recent Gallup poll that put Trump’s approval at 49 percent from May 1 to May 13.
“At the same time in their presidencies George W Bush and Barrack Obama both had approval ratings of 47%, which is slightly lower than Trump’s,” Constable wrote, noting that both presidents went on to win a second term.
According to Constable, Trump’s current approval puts him in a position to win in November.
“The two recent presidents that lost their second term had far lower approval ratings,” he continued.
Constable pointed out that Bush and Carter had approval ratings of 41 percent and 40 percent, respectively, at the same point in time before their election loss.
