Instant Alert: Voters were asked who they thought were the best and worst presidents of the past 40 years — and the winners were clear

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   Voters were asked who they thought were the best and worst presidents of the past 40 years — and the winners were clear by Allan Smith on Oct 31, 2017, 2:54 PM Advertisement A Tuesday poll found that a majority of voters believe that either Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama was the best president of the past 40 years. The same poll found that a plurality of voters think that President Donald Trump was the worst president of the past 40 years. The choices were Presidents Reagan, Obama, Trump, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush. and Jimmy Carter. Most American voters believe that either Presidents Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama was the best of the past 40 years, a Tuesday poll from the left-leaning firm Public Policy Polling found. The same survey found that a plurality of voters believe President Donald Trump is the worst commander-in-chief of the past 40 years. PPP found that 31% of voters believe Reagan was the best president of the past four decades while 30% believe it was Obama. Among the other presidents who have served since 1977, 14% of voters believe President Bill Clinton was the best, followed by 9% who picked Trump, 6% who picked President Jimmy Carter, 4% who picked President George H.W. Bush, and 2% who picked his son, President George W. Bush. On the flip side, 43% said Trump was the worst president while 33% said Obama was the worst, a sign that recency bias may be in effect for both. The two most recent presidents were followed by the younger Bush and Carter, who both received 5%, then Clinton with 4%, Reagan with 3%, and the elder Bush with 2%. The results yielded some interesting data points when broken down by who the respondent voted for in the 2016 presidential election. Among Trump voters, 56% said Reagan was the best president, followed by 22% who said it was Trump. Interestingly, 4% of Trump voters said Clinton was the best president of the past 40 years while 1% said it was Obama. Among Clinton voters, 57% said the best president was Obama and 24% said it was Clinton. Trump received no support from Clinton voters in this survey. Asked who was the worst president, 64% of Trump voters said it was Obama. Somewhat surprisingly, 6% of Trump voters said that Trump himself was the worst president of the past four decades. An overwhelming number of Clinton voters — 77% — said Trump was the worst president. PPP later asked respondents if they agreed or disagreed that Trump was the worst president ever and 10% of Trump voters said yes, they agreed with that statement. Among Clinton voters, 84% agreed with that sentiment. The results come one day after Trump received his all-time low approval rating in the Gallup daily presidential tracking poll, registering just 33%. His disapproval rating jumped to its highest level, which was 62%. PPP surveyed 572 registered voters from October 27 to 29. The margin of error is 4.1 percentage points. SEE ALSO: Trump just dropped to his all-time low approval rating   Share the latest business news with your network:    Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011