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Favorite
Commanders:
Obama
Tops
Poll of
Living
Presidents
as
Biden,
Trump
Lag
Marc
Kennedy
-
National-Politics
Tell Us
USA News
Network
WASHINGTON
— Nearly
two
months
into
Donald
Trump’s
second
term, a
new
survey
measuring
Americans’
affection
for
their
living
former
presidents
has
revealed
a clear
hierarchy
of
public
esteem,
with
Barack
Obama
emerging
as the
most
beloved
figure
and Joe
Biden
trailing
the
field.
The
Gallup
poll,
conducted
among
1,001
U.S.
adults
in late
January,
offers a
snapshot
of how
the five
living
occupants
of the
Oval
Office
are
viewed
by a
nation
often
deeply
divided
along
partisan
lines.
Obama
Widely
Adored,
Biden
Struggles
Topping
the list
with a
59%
favorable
rating
is
Barack
Obama,
the 44th
president,
whose
approval
has
remained
remarkably
stable
since
leaving
the
White
House
eight
years
ago. His
post-presidency
favorability
has
consistently
hovered
in the
high 50s
and low
60s, a
testament
to the
enduring
appeal
of his
tenure,
which
included
the
passage
of the
Affordable
Care Act
and the
killing
of Osama
bin
Laden.
At the
opposite
end of
the
spectrum
is Joe
Biden.
The most
recent
former
president
garnered
only a
39%
favorable
rating
against
a 57%
unfavorable
score—the
lowest
of any
living
president.
Analysts
point to
a
combination
of
factors
for
Biden’s
unpopularity,
including
persistent
inflation
during
his
term,
persistent
concerns
about
his age
and
mental
acuity,
and a
late-term
decision
to
pardon
his son
Hunter,
which
critics
saw as a
broken
promise.
The
Middle
Ground:
Bush,
Clinton,
and
Trump
George
W. Bush
secured
the
second-highest
favorability
at 52%,
followed
by a tie
for
third
between
Bill
Clinton
and the
incumbent
Donald
Trump,
both at
48%.
However,
the
numbers
for
Trump
reveal
the deep
polarization
of the
current
political
landscape.
While he
enjoys a
48%
favorable
rating—his
highest
since
2020—his
unfavorable
rating
stands
at 50%,
the
highest
of any
president
on the
list
aside
from
Biden.
His
support
is
overwhelmingly
concentrated
among
Republicans
(93%),
while
his
favorability
among
Democrats
languishes
at just
7%.
Bill
Clinton’s
legacy
appears
more
nuanced.
While
remembered
for the
economic
prosperity
of the
1990s,
his
favorability
has
fluctuated
significantly
over the
years,
dipping
from a
high of
69% in
2012 to
its
current
48%, a
decline
some
analysts
attribute
to the
lasting
shadow
of his
1998
impeachment
over the
Monica
Lewinsky
scandal.
The
Uniter:
George
W. Bush
While
Obama
holds
the
highest
overall
numbers,
the
survey
identified
George
W. Bush
as the
only
living
president
viewed
favorably
by a
plurality
of both
Republicans
and
Democrats.
Sixty-three
percent
of
Republicans
and 48%
of
Democrats
hold a
favorable
opinion
of the
43rd
president.
This
bipartisan
goodwill
marks a
significant
rehabilitation
for
Bush,
who left
office
in 2009
with an
approval
rating
sunk by
the Iraq
War and
the 2008
financial
crisis.
His
numbers
have
rebounded
in the
years
since, a
phenomenon
Gallup
notes is
common
for
ex-presidents,
who
often
enjoy
improved
favorability
after
having
been out
of
office
for some
time.
As the
nation
looks
toward
the
250th
anniversary
of its
founding
in
2026—an
event
for
which
President
Trump
has
promised
"the
most
spectacular
birthday
party
the
world
has ever
seen"—these
numbers
serve as
a
measure
of how
the
country’s
recent
leaders
are
regarded
in the
public
imagination.
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