CNN Poll Finds Obama Leads Trump in Open-Ended Question About America’s Most Admired President

A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS asked Americans which president in U.S. history they admire most, allowing respondents to give an open-ended answer rather than selecting from a predetermined list.

Barack Obama received the largest share, with 30% of Americans naming him. Donald Trump followed with 19%, while Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan each received 9%.

John F. Kennedy was named by 6% of respondents, followed by George Washington at 5%. Nearly 10% said they did not admire any president or offered no opinion.

The survey included 2,480 U.S. adults nationwide and was conducted by SSRS from May 7 through May 31, 2026, using online and telephone interviews.

The open-ended format is significant because respondents were not presented with a list of presidents. Instead, participants had to recall and name the president they personally admired most.

Obama's 30% placed him 11 percentage points ahead of Trump in the national sample. Lincoln and Reagan followed together at 9%, creating a tie behind the two more recent presidents.

Kennedy received 6%, while Washington was named by 5%. Other presidents received smaller shares, including Bill Clinton at 2% and Joe Biden and George W. Bush at 1% each.

The findings were part of a broader CNN poll examining how Americans currently view recent presidents and how perceptions of presidential legacies change after individuals leave office.

According to the survey, 57% of Americans held a favorable opinion of Obama, compared with 34% for Trump and 30% for Biden.

Obama's favorable rating was also substantially higher among independents than the ratings recorded for Trump and Biden, according to the survey results published by SSRS.

The poll found especially strong support for Obama among Democrats. Sixty-four percent of Democratic respondents said Obama was the president they admired most.

Among Republicans, Trump was the most frequently named president, receiving 53% of responses. Reagan followed among Republicans at 18%, while Lincoln received 8%.

These partisan differences illustrate how political affiliation strongly shaped the answers when respondents were asked to identify the president they admired most.

The survey also found that Obama retained significant recognition among Americans despite leaving office nearly a decade earlier, reflecting the continuing visibility of his presidency in national political life.

CNN's analysis also pointed to generational differences in Americans' memories of previous presidents. More than four in ten adults younger than 30 said they had no opinion of Bush or Clinton.

That finding suggests that younger Americans may have less direct political memory of presidents who served before the Obama era, potentially affecting how they respond to questions about presidential legacies.

The poll's results should not be interpreted as a formal historical ranking of presidents. Respondents were simply asked whom they personally admired most, making the findings a measure of public sentiment.

The survey also differed from questions asking which president was considered the “greatest” in American history, because admiration can reflect personal connection, political identity, familiarity or historical reputation.

Obama's lead in the national sample came as the former president's presidential center opened in Chicago, placing renewed attention on his administration and political legacy.

Trump's second-place position in the nationwide open-ended question contrasted with his much stronger showing among Republican respondents, where a majority identified him as the president they admired most.

The difference between the national and partisan results highlights how overall public opinion can differ significantly from views within individual political groups.

The survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points for the full sample, according to SSRS.

Because the survey was conducted between May 7 and May 31, the findings represent Americans' views during that specific period rather than a measurement of opinion at the present moment.

The results nevertheless provide a snapshot of how Americans spontaneously identify the presidents they admire most, with Obama receiving the largest national share and Trump ranking second.

Behind them, Lincoln and Reagan tied at 9%, followed by Kennedy at 6% and Washington at 5%, while nearly one in ten respondents declined to select a president or expressed no admiration.