Jul 11, 2018

Poll: Americans view Obama as the best president of their lifetime

Zachary Basu

Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at Liberty National Golf Club in September 2017. Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

A new survey by Pew Research Center shows that 44% of Americans view Barack Obama as the first or second best president of their lifetime, followed by Bill Clinton (33%) and Ronald Reagan (32%).

The big picture: Favorability of presidents is distributed primarily along generational and partisan lines, with 62% of millennials and 71% of Democrats naming Obama in their top two. In 2011, however, Obama received just 20% of the share, pointing to a sharp spike in his favorability after he left office. Current President Donald Trump came in fourth with 19% of responses saying he has done the best or second best job of any president in their lifetimes.

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Axios

Coronavirus updates: New global case numbers surpass China's

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Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

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WHO official leads criticism of Trump's coronavirus response

President Trump with members of the new coronavirus task force, including Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

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