Republicans Say Trump Is Better Than Lincoln

A majority of Republicans said President Donald Trump is a better leader than Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president who is widely regarded as one of the greatest heroes in American history. Independents and Democrats had a largely different opinion, with 78 percent and 94 percent respectively saying Lincoln was the better president. The poll, commissioned by The Economist and YouGov, questioned nearly 1,500 people from November 24 to 25.

Lincoln led the Union through the American Civil War, unified the nation and emancipated the slaves. However, 53 percent of Republicans said Trump, who could become the third president to be impeached, is a better leader than Lincoln.

Trump is accused of allegedly withholding nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine while simultaneously asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a July 25 phone call to investigate one of his rivals in the 2020 presidential election. Trump and Zelensky deny the claim.

On December 17, a day before the House of Representatives was slated to vote on impeaching Trump, the president sent a scathing letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He slammed the “partisan impeachment crusade.”

“I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election,” he said in a six-page letter to Pelosi on the eve of the impeachment vote. “They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.”