Obama viewed far more favorably than Trump, Biden: Poll

Administration Obama viewed far more favorably than Trump, Biden: Poll Comments: by Finya Swai - 06/18/26 10:27 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Finya Swai - 06/18/26 10:27 AM ET Comments: Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Former President Obama is viewed more favorably by Americans than President Trump and former President Biden, according to a CNN poll released Thursday that found Obama remains the most popular living president by a wide margin.

The poll found that 57 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Obama, compared with 34 percent who hold a favorable view of Trump and 30 percent for Biden.

Obama also outperformed both Trump and Biden among independent voters, where his favorability rating was more than twice as high as either of his Oval Office successors. He maintained near-universal support from his own party, unlike Trump and Biden within their respective parties.

While only 19 percent of Republicans held a favorable view of Obama, he still had more cross-party appeal than his two successors. Only 5 percent of Democrats were willing to cross party lines in support of Trump, and 5 percent of Republicans had a positive view of Biden.

Public perceptions of presidents can shift after they leave office, and typically they trend more positively. Former President George W. Bush, who left office with deeply negative approval ratings amid a war with Iraq and a financial crisis, saw improvements to his favorability in the decades after he left office.

Similarly, Trump ended his first term with a 33 percent approval rating, according to previous CNN polling, and saw a boost in his favorability to 46 percent at the time of his second inauguration.

The survey also asked respondents to name the president they most admire. Obama topped the list with 30 percent, followed by Trump at 19 percent. Former President Abraham Lincoln and former President Reagan each received 9 percent, while former President Kennedy trailed at 6 percent.

The poll was conducted by SSRS May 7-31 and surveyed 2,480 U.S. adults either online or by telephone. It has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

Add as preferred source on Google Tags Abraham Lincoln Barack Obama Donald Trump George W. Bush Joe Biden

Comments: Link copied