Trump begs supporters to say he's better than President Obama

Trump has launched his reelection campaign by looking to the past.

On Friday, Trump’s reelection campaign sent a mass email to supporters asking them to fill out a poll designed to make Trump look better than his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

“It’s no secret that Obama’s presidency was a disaster,” said the email. “Please take our Official Trump vs. Obama Poll and let us know who you think is the better President.”

The email linked to a poll on Trump’s official website titled, “Official Trump vs. Obama Poll.” It consists of 10 loaded questions designed to make Trump the overwhelming favorite.

The poll pits Obama and Trump head to head on issues like the economy and national security.

It also asks supporters, “Who do you believe was the victim of illegal spying by the federal government and Russian Interference during the 2016 Election?”

That is an echo of the “deep state” conspiracy theory that Trump has pushed for years.

Trump’s campaign also asks questions like “Who do you believe prioritizes AMERICANS over dangerous illegal aliens?” and “Who do you believe will NEVER allow America to turn into a SOCIALIST Nation?”

The questions are asked in the present tense, even though Obama is out of office and is no longer responsible for the state of the economy, national security, or anything else.

In case the survey wasn’t clear enough on who is supposed to win, the final, open-ended question asks, “Are there any other comments you’d like to share on President Trump’s unprecedented success over Barack Obama?”

The email was the bookend to Trump’s official reelection campaign launch at a rally in Florida on Tuesday, where instead of speaking about the future and plans for the country, he spent most of the time talking about Hillary Clinton.

Trump lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes in 2016, and the rally was another sign that he still isn’t over it.

He ranted about Clinton’s purported “illegal server” and “acid-washed” emails. The devoted followers in attendance chanted “lock her up,” which has been their refrain for three years and counting.

In real polling, Trump has often been left in Obama’s shadow.

A PPP poll from January ranked Obama the best president of the last 40 years, with support from 31% of respondents. Only 15% said the same for Trump.

In a 2018 Pew poll, 44% of respondents said Obama was the best or second best president of their lifetimes. Trump got 19%, which also put him below Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

Obama left office in January 2017 with an average approval of 57.2%. Trump took over the same month and his support was much lower, at 44.3%. Throughout his entire presidency, he has never had support above 50%.

But he might do better in his own rigged poll.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.