Abraham Lincoln might be revered by historians as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, but despite being heralded as the prime example of a great GOP leader, "Honest" Abe lost to Donald Trump in a 2019 poll of Republican voters.
The survey, conducted by The Economist and YouGov.com, simply asked who voters would choose as the greatest Republican president: Lincoln or Trump? Although Lincoln was chosen by 94 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents, and 75 percent of the entire selection of survey participants, he garnered only 47 percent of Republican picks. Trump grabbed 53 percent.
In another part of the poll in which Republican presidents were rated on a scale of 1 to 8, with 1 being best and 8 being worst, Trump earned the top spot among 32 percent of Republicans, while Lincoln ranked best among 29 percent, and Ronald Reagan led the charge among another 27 percent.
Inside the GOP:
- Republicans became known as the Grand Old Party (GOP) for helping keep the Union together during the Civil War.
- The Republican stronghold in America has largely shifted from the northern to the southern states.
- Political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew the elephant that has become the symbol of the Republican Party.
