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13th Jul 2018

Barack Obama named the “best” president of recent years ahead of Trump’s UK visit

James Dawson

CC: Donald Trump

A recent poll of Americans has found that they consider Barack Obama the “best President of their lifetime” with his popularity surging among millennials.

Forty-four percent of Americans surveyed said Obama – who was in office between 2009 and 2017 – was the best or second best president of their lifetime. With Bill Clinton placing in second with 33% and Ronald Reagan with 32%.

Obama’s popularity was even more pronounced among younger Americans, with 62% of millennials saying Obama was one of the best POTUS. Donald Trump on the other hand – who is currently visiting the UK on his first official visit – was voted best or second best by 19% of respondents.

The results of the poll of 2000 Americans – conducted last month by the US think tank Pew Research Centre – comes as the current US leader is greeted by large-scale protests in London during his four-day “working visit”.

An estimated 200,000 people are expected to participate in protests in the UK, the largest of which is expected to begin at 2pm this afternoon.

During his first press interview after arriving in the country, President Donald Trump said he felt “unwelcome” in London due to a 20-foot-tall “Trump Baby” blimp being flown above Parliament Square.

Speaking during an interview with The Sun, he said: “I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London.

“I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?”

Donald Trump also used the interview to lay into Theresa May’s plans for Brexit and hail Boris Johnson as a future prime minister. “I am just saying I think he would be a great prime minister. I think he’s got what it takes,” he said.