A new CNN poll finds most Republicans now say President Trump is the president they admire most, putting him far ahead of Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln.
Story Snapshot
- 53% of Republicans name Trump as the president they admire most, according to a CNN/SSRS survey released June 18, 2026.
- Reagan came in second among Republicans at 18%. Lincoln trailed at just 8%.
- Among all U.S. adults, former President Barack Obama led with 30%, followed by Trump at 19%.
- Other recent polls show similar patterns, though the size of Trump’s lead shifts depending on how the question is worded.
Republicans Rank Trump Far Above Party Icons
Republicans overwhelmingly picked President Trump when a CNN/SSRS survey asked which president they admire most. Trump got 53% support from GOP respondents. Reagan, long seen as the party’s gold standard, got only 18%. Lincoln, the party’s founding president, came in at just 8%.
The gap is striking. Trump’s support among Republicans was nearly three times higher than Reagan’s and more than six times higher than Lincoln’s. CNN’s polling team called Trump the clear “most-admired” pick within his own party, a title he now holds by a wide margin.
Obama Leads Among All Americans, But Not Republicans
The picture changes when every U.S. adult is asked the same question. Obama came out on top nationally with 30% support. Trump followed at 19%, while Lincoln and Reagan tied at 9% each. John F. Kennedy got 6%, and George Washington got 5%.
The partisan split is sharp. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats, 64%, named Obama as their most admired president. Republicans showed no such loyalty to past GOP leaders, instead rallying almost entirely around Trump. This shows how differently each party views its own political history right now.
CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, highlighted the numbers on air, noting that Trump’s standing among Republicans now outpaces two of the party’s most celebrated historical figures by a wide margin. Other outlets, including Newsweek and Just the News, reported the same 53%-18%-8% breakdown, confirming the finding was not a one-off result.
Not the First Time Trump Has Topped Reagan and Lincoln
This isn’t a new trend. A separate Economist/YouGov poll found 53% of Republicans said Trump was a better president than Lincoln, compared to 47% who picked Lincoln. But that same survey found 59% of Republicans still rated Reagan’s presidency higher than Trump’s, showing the rankings can shift depending on how pollsters phrase the question.
A Washington Examiner report from an earlier survey found Republicans chose Trump over Reagan as the best president ever by a two-to-one margin. Other list-based polls have shown Reagan still edging out Trump when voters pick from a longer roster of past presidents, suggesting question format matters as much as raw opinion.
What The Numbers Say About The GOP Today
Trump allies have used these findings to argue he is no longer just a recent nominee, but the defining figure of today’s Republican Party. President Trump posted about the CNN result on Truth Social, referencing the segment that showed him topping both Reagan and Lincoln among GOP voters.
Some longtime Republicans note the results mark a real shift from decades of GOP messaging built around Reagan’s legacy, symbolized by ads like his famous 1984 “Morning in America” campaign. Whether that shift reflects lasting change or a snapshot tied to Trump’s current hold on the party remains something future polls will help clarify.
The finding arrives alongside other CNN/SSRS data showing Trump’s overall approval rating has struggled among the wider public even as his standing inside his own party stays strong. That mix, high admiration within the GOP but weaker numbers nationally, reflects a broader trend of Americans splitting sharply along party lines on almost every measure of presidential approval and legacy.
Trump says voters blame GOP as his favorability hits second-term low.
"They're not angry at me but they are angry at Republicans"š
MS NOW's @MSNOWNews Jackie Alemany shares Trump's latest polling results ā¬ļø, which show that his favorability amongā¦
https://t.co/a3Owcj63sF— CLH (@CLH111354) August 27, 2026
For now, the data is clear on one point. When Republicans are asked who they admire most, Trump is not just leading, he is dominating, leaving even Reagan and Lincoln, two of the party’s most enduring symbols, far behind him in the rankings.
Sources:
reddit.com, newsweek.com, justthenews.com, cnn.com, wabcradio.com, linkedin.com, yahoo.com, thehill.com
