When asked to name the United States president who has done the best job over the past 40 years, a majority of Democrats name Barack Obama. Republicans, by contrast, are divided between a president who served in the 1980s – Ronald Reagan – and one who is currently running to return to office, Donald Trump.
About four-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (41%) say Reagan has done the best job as president over the past 40 years. Slightly fewer (37%) say Trump has done the best job, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in July.
Nearly six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners (58%) say Obama has done the best job as president in the past 40 years. Far fewer name Bill Clinton (19%) or Joe Biden (7%), who is running for re-election in 2024.
In the last four decades, four Republicans and three Democrats have served as president. Among U.S. Adults overall, 32% say Obama has done the best job during this period, followed by Reagan (23%), Trump (19%) and Clinton (12%). Relatively small shares name Biden, George W. Bush or George H.W. Bush (4% or less for each).
Americans’ views of which presidents have done the best job in the past 40 years are largely unchanged since a September 2021 Center survey. The new survey was conducted after Trump was indicted in federal court in Florida on charges related to improper handling of classified documents, but before indictments charging him with attempts to overturn the 2020 election were returned in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in state court in Georgia.
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