CNN CONFIRMS: Trump Crushes Reagan, Lincoln in Republican Admiration Poll.
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A CNN segment is making waves after President Trump shared it on social media, highlighting network data analyst Harry Enten breaking down a poll showing just how dominant Trump's standing is among Republican voters. According to the numbers Enten presented, 53% of Republicans named Trump as the president they most admire, putting him far ahead of the pack. Ronald Reagan, long considered a GOP icon and standard-bearer, came in a distant second at just 18%, meaning Trump's support nearly tripled his. The gap becomes even more striking when Abraham Lincoln enters the picture, with Republicans naming him their most admired president only 8% of the time, putting Trump's numbers at roughly six to seven times higher.
The poll in question was conducted by CNN in partnership with SSRS between May 7 and May 31, carrying a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percentage points. Beyond Trump, Reagan, and Lincoln, the same survey found smaller shares of Republicans naming John F. Kennedy and George Washington as their most admired presidents, each pulling around 5%. Enten framed the results as a "reality check" on Trump's continued grip over the party, describing him as the gravitational center around which the rest of the GOP orbits. He noted this comes even as Trump has been navigating some of his roughest overall approval numbers of his second term, underscoring just how firmly his base still stands behind him regardless of broader public sentiment.
What makes the comparison particularly notable is who Trump is being measured against. Reagan remains a towering figure in Republican political memory, often invoked as the gold standard for conservative leadership, yet he still trails Trump by a wide margin in this specific poll. Lincoln, meanwhile, is frequently cited by historians as one of the greatest presidents in American history for his role preserving the Union and ending slavery, making his low showing among today's Republicans especially eye-catching. The same CNN poll, when opened up to all Americans regardless of party, told a different story, with Barack Obama topping the list at 30% and Trump trailing at 19% nationally, a reminder that Trump's dominance here is specifically a phenomenon within Republican ranks rather than the electorate as a whole.
Trump's decision to amplify the segment fits a familiar pattern of the president highlighting favorable data points from mainstream outlets, even ones he has frequently criticized in the past. The clip's viral spread reflects how quickly polling numbers can become political ammunition once they're pulled from a broader report and repackaged for social media. Whatever one makes of the comparison to Reagan and Lincoln, the underlying data does confirm one thing clearly: among self-identified Republicans surveyed this spring, Trump's favorability as "most admired" president is not just leading, it's dominating by a wide margin.