Obama 'crushes' Trump in polling as both make midterm pitch

Two presidents, one election. Yes. We had. dueling presidents out. on the campaign trail. and one case in the same state. roughly at the same time, President Trump and President Obama. both out there. So when they are both out there. How do voters see things with us now? CNN chief data analyst Harry. And so we have. a picture here of President Obama, the two presidents out there. How do they compare. when it comes to favorability? Yeah, I would just say that. President Obama apps early crushes.

President Trump when it comes to. who is more like by the American public. You could see it right here okay. Net favorability rating. They're basically inverse. pictures of each other. Right. Look at this. President Obama, his net favorability. plus 20 points. Look at President Trump way down there. 18 points under water. under Lake Michigan. My goodness gracious. How about among independents? Independents, of course, being the name of the game in politics, you win independents. You tend to win elections. Look at this. You'd much rather have Obama. on the campaign trail out for you.

to appeal. to independents than President Trump, plus 19 points for Barack Obama. Look at Donald John Trump. Look at that 38 points underwater. This has been a massive problem. throughout the latter. part of Donald Trump's second term. That is real difficulty. with independent voters. and is the main reason why. a lot of these red states, Johnny B, are in play. Because even though they. may have more Republicans than Democrats, the independents. have totally shifted.

against the president, the United States. and the Republican Party. So who do people say. they think was a better president? Who did they say. they think was a better president? I think you know what is going on. here, right? Why are these numbers. the way that they are? Well, just take a look at this. I don't think that President Trump. is going to like that. Who has been the better president? Look at this. Barack Obama comes in at 55%. Donald John Trump comes in at just 37%. This is from a poll earlier this year. I wouldn't be surprised. if this margin. has actually grown a little bit, as President Trump. has become even less popular.

than he was at the start. of this year, when, of course, the Iran war and the gas prices. went skyrocketing up and his approval. ratings went all the way into the gutter. So the bottom line. is this President. Barack Obama, former President. Barack Obama, far more popular. than President Donald Trump is. And Americans overwhelmingly agree. that Barack Obama has been. or was a better president. than Donald John Trump. That's why he's smiling in. President Trump. Yeah, yeah, that might be it. Maybe he knew it was coming. All right. How about in terms of which president. or who the most admired presidents are.

And there's some history. here, Harry, because at one point. you put up a chart of who Republicans. are, MAGA Republicans. think is the most admired president, and it was President Trump, but among all voters. Yeah. Okay. So, you know, it's. one thing to be among Republicans, Donald Trump, still popular. among Republicans, still very popular. among MAGA Republicans, but among the electorate at large. You can see it right here. The president Americans most admire. It's Barack Obama who is at number one. And Donald Trump. is more than double digits back,

or he's double digits back at 19%. Then you got Lincoln. at nine, Reagan at nine. But when you look at it overall, if you look at the overall electorate, the president. that the most Americans admire, the plurality. go for this gentleman. right here, Barack Obama, Donald Trump is in second place. And I don't think that's a place. Donald Trump wants to be. I got to see to see Lincoln there. back at nine. You know what? Maybe some Americans, you know, they say, you know, that was 160 years ago. What I sight out of mind. All right, Harriet, and thank you very much. Thank you, my friend. Let's get rid of CNN's or left. signs in Detroit for the latest.

What was the former president's message? Well, John, former President. Barack Obama. reprised his role. as the closer. for Democrats, as he remains a key motivator. for the Democratic base. And he is hoping appearances in places. like Michigan, Ohio. and Georgia. will help. get his Democratic candidates. across the finish line. It really was a rare. and remarkable moment this weekend, as you had these split screens of Trump. and Obama on the campaign trail. Obama and Trump. were here in Michigan.

within the same 24 hour span. And one of the things that Obama did. in his rally here. in Detroit on Saturday night. was really lay in. to President Trump. offering a very scathing rebuke. of his time as president, not just these last two years, but also his first term. Take a listen. After ten years. of chaos and cruelty. and corruption. and incompetence,

tomfoolery, nonsense, the likes of which. this country has. not seen in modern times, at least. you get to say enough is enough. We're voting for change. right here in Michigan. Now, Obama also addressed. some of those attacks on Michigan's. Democratic Senate. nominee, Abdul. al-Assad, over his Muslim faith. and his name.

He said that. this is very similar. to a Republican playbook of the past, even alluding to Donald Trump's efforts. to promote. birther conspiracy theories. about the former president. Obama said that those attacks. did not work back then, and they will not work in this race. against Al Qaida. Now, Obama's appearance here was, in part. also an effort. to try to motivate. black voters. to turn out in this election. El-Sayed is still trying to win. over black voters in the state. who had sided with his Democratic. primary opponent, Haley Stevens.

And Obama is a figure. who could help in that community. Now, Obama's campaigning. just didn't end here in the state. This weekend, he is also set to campaign on Wednesday. down in Georgia for Democratic Senator. Jon Ossoff. and Keisha Lance bottoms, the Democratic nominee. for governor in the state. So Democrat is really hoping. that he can motivate their base voters. to turn out in. some of the closely. watched Senate races. and governors races this cycle. So you had President Trump.

and former President. Barack Obama hit the campaign trail. Obama with stops in Ohio. and then Michigan, Trump in Georgia, and then also to Michigan on Sunday. So whose message is going to resonate. more with the voters? Make it a frickin fortune. Our country is getting stronger. and stronger all the time. And those pump prices. are going to come down. Sometimes factors beyond your control. end up foiling your best laid plans.

That's not the case here. The current president chose. to make a series of bad decisions. today. In the group chat, Sarah Fisher, CNN senior media analyst and senior media. reporter for Axios, Tiana Low Dasher, political commentator. with The Washington Examiner. And Lulu Garcia-Navarro, CNN contributor. and host of the New York Times. podcast The Interview. Thank you guys. for being here this morning. I want to start with you. dueling Q scores like, who's the more popular politician,

because I did not expect to see. the former president. as front and center as he has been. What's the value there? Well, it does say for the Democrats. that they have a little bit of a problem. The fact that Barack Obama. continues to be your closer, your big face to come in. and save some of these battleground races. more than. what has it been a decade. since he left office, tells you something about what? The future of this party. He is still a very strong character. for them to be pulling out. in these battleground states. Of course, you can't bring Kamala.

Harris out. She is not the person who, even though, you know, some people expect her to be out, is not the right person here. Obviously, Joe. Biden is going to Michigan. and she has been out in many places, but she's not the right person. for this role, for this role. And obviously, Joe Biden is not going to be. that person either. The dual messages is for President Trump. He has to defend the policies. now, where, as. former President Barack Obama. gets to paint. a better picture of the future, which I think, you know, brings one. a little bit more hope. because it's not something.

he has to defend today. Be very curious. to see how it works, though. Obviously, President. Trump and former President Barack Obama, very different type of messages. They are they are. At the same time, I think that, President Obama. is doing a little pick on someone. your own size. Here he is. I think in Michigan, talking about, a decade of, chaos and cruelty. After ten years. of chaos and cruelty.

and corruption. and incompetence, tomfoolery, nonsense. The likes of which. this country. has not seen in modern times, at least. you get to say enough is enough. We're voting for change. right here in Michigan. So the really interesting thing is. he talked about the name thing, because obviously Trump. always used to go. after Barack Obama for both his name and,

making false allegations. about where he was born. So then Abdul El-Sayed, who also was dealing with this, he gets a little gumption. and he sounds like this on Sunday. I'm here to keep a. jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member. from becoming a United States senator. I don't even care that. he remembers my whole name, because he can just go on. and call me Senator after November. That'll be Senator Muhammad to you, bro.

It's close, and he needs the help. So is Obama. the right person to help given. their shared experiences? With Trump's attacks? I mean, again, it's a little different. because unlike the birtherism thing, which had. no evidence behind it, obviously, Abdul said. his mom was allegedly in the Muslim. Brotherhood, right? Like his sister tweeted about this. We have discussed this. So it's guilt by association. And you think that's right now working. But it is having an impact, right? With the voters.

especially, I think it's reasonable. to ask someone if you disavow that, if it's your literal mom. and said no, a voter asked him directly. It's a little milquetoast. when he has so much energy behind. attacking Israel and won't say, you know, you know, it's pretty obvious. that Iran is a greater threat. to America than Israel. People notice what. where there is salience behind an issue. And I think that's why. Obama can try and defend it. and be the human shield,

because he is so personally. popular, right? He is probably the most. popular politician. still alive in the U.S., but actually. but I don't think that distracts from. Abdul Isis unique weaknesses. And we're saying that. he has spent all his time. in the primary accusing Haley. Stevens of taking money from a PAC. That being a problem, playing to what was an issue. for primary voters there. It's an issue, actually, I think across, this election for left and right, what else it has actually done, which I think is,

quite clever, is that he has tied it. into the wider issue of money. in our politics. and influence in our politics. And that is something. that Democrats are hammering. not only in Michigan, but across the country, because we've seen. just enormous amounts of money. Bernie Sanders, with his Fighting. the Oligarchy tour, they really have been. the thing that I've seen. And the closing message of the Democrats, which has been fascinating, is that they have really had. a lot of message discipline. You know, I just spoke to Gina Hinojosa in Texas, you know, this past weekend, El-Sayed.

in Michigan, you know, Troy Jackson in Maine. They are all beating the same drum. And it is a popular drum, which is to say, we the people do not own these elections. These elections are being sold down. The river. And so you can look at this, you know, you can look at El-Sayed. And there are legitimate, you know, obviously worries. about this whole thing. The Muslim Brotherhood. That's not. that is a complete misunderstanding. of what he did. That was not a letter.

supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. You know, the United States position, with the Muslim Brotherhood. in 2011 and 2012. Do you know what it was? Yes. I think that that position was wrong. You can think it was wrong or it wasn't, but it was the United States. government's position. actually to engage after, this entire thing happened at the Arab. Spring in the Middle East. with the legitimately. elected leaders of a country. with which they had a relationship. for suppressed crack down. The journalists should. have some grievance. I'm not.

I'm not. taking a position. on what the United States government. should or should not have been. I'm just saying that he was in lockstep. with what. the elected government. of the United States. was doing at the time. Regardless, this is the point. Republicans constantly. want to bring us back. to 2011 and litigate. something that most people don't. really have any idea. about, don't remember very well. Most regular Americans, I don't think, have any sense. of what Obama's foreign policy. was towards Egypt about al-Qaida. But who wants to be on the Senate.

Foreign Relations Committee? He says this. Yes, but he also talks about the things. that people care about, which which are affordability, etc., etc.. So what I'm trying to say here is that, the closing message of the Democrats, is this message that. it's us against them. Well, let me pause for a second. It's his right to reclaim that mantle. We're going to talk. about Hispanic voters. We're going to talk about. a lot of different voters this time. But in Michigan, to end this, I'm going to show you the polling.

No clear leader Abdul Sayeed. is still doing very well. against Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers is very much closing the gap. And we're going to see the effect. of these former presidents, on voters. They're.