Obama tops Gallup’s presidential favorability survey

WASHINGTON — Eight years after leaving the White House, former president Barack Obama is still most favored by Americans. Last month, global analytics firm Gallup surveyed 1,001 Americans to find out which of the five remaining living presidents are best liked. 

Gallup asked participants if they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each of the presidents. Barack Obama at 59% favorability and George W. Bush with 52% had the highest percentage of favorable ratings. Bill Clinton and President Trump ranked shortly behind, both with favorability ratings of 48%. At the bottom of the list was Joe Biden with a rating of 39%.

Obama’s favorability has remained consistently positive over the years since the end of his presidency, Gallup reports. After the election in 2016, 62% of Americans were favorable of Obama. That number has only dropped as low as 58% since then.

Other presidents have ratings that fluctuate more. President Trump’s current rating of 48% is his highest as president since 2020, when it peaked to 49%. This rise has happened slowly over the years, after his rating dropped to 36% when he left office.

Joe Biden’s favorability decreased significantly throughout his presidency. His highest rating as president was 59% shortly after inauguration in January 2021,  but his favorability peak was after leaving office as vice president alongside Obama in January 2017. 

Gallup noted it sees “generally positive ratings around the time of their inauguration, subdued ratings while in office, usually poor ratings when their presidency ends, and improved favorability after having been out of office for some time.”