Majority of Democrats believe Obama was better president than Washington: Poll

Published December 10, 2019 5:43pm ET



Was Barack Obama a better president than George Washington? Most Democrats think so.

A poll from Monmouth University found that 63% of Democrats chose Obama when asked, “Who was a better president: George Washington or Barack Obama?” Only 7% of Republicans chose Obama, while 85% declared Washington as the superior president.

When the tables turned, and the question replaced Obama with President Trump, Republicans still sided with Washington. Only 37% of Republicans felt Trump was a better president than the founding father.

As a whole, respondents sided with Washington in the presidential debate, with 71% saying he was better than Trump and 58% claiming Washington was better than Obama.

In late November, a poll conducted by the Economist and YouGov found that a majority of Republicans felt Trump was a better president than the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln. Fifty-three percent of Republicans chose Trump over Lincoln when responding to the survey, while the general response from those asked was 75% in favor of Lincoln.

Washington was not a member of a political party, unlike Lincoln. The first president warned Americans against having a political party in his farewell address, but his advice was not followed.

The Monmouth University poll was taken from Dec. 4 through Dec. 8, with 903 adults responding.