A majority of Republicans (53%) think Trump is a better president than Abraham Lincoln. But there is one GOP President since Lincoln whom Republicans rate higher than Trump: A majority (59%) of Republicans believe Ronald Reagan was a better president than the current incumbent.[1] Neil, a Republican from Oregon, said that Trump “supersedes” Lincoln, because “Lincoln only freed the slaves,” he said during a call to the network Wednesday. “Yes, that’s a big thing. But what Trump is doing is far greater.”[2]
On the other hand in a survey by nearly 100 historians and biographers Abraham Lincoln was voted the best US president. This survey rated 43 US presidents on "10 qualities of presidential leadership". Other notable names "include George Washington at No. 2, Thomas Jefferson at No. 7, and Barack Obama at No. 12". As the survey is undertaken "after a sitting president's term", President Donald Trump was excluded.[3] According to American political scientists of all political persuasions, the following were considered the best American Presidents in 2018:[4]
It must be noted that a majority of the 170 respondents — roughly 57% — identified as Democrats. Just 13% were Republicans, while 27% said they were independents, and 3% selected other.[5]