Former President Donald Trump revisited one of his most controversial assertions about his political popularity during a Wednesday appearance at the Kennedy Center, while simultaneously defending his administration's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Dubious Polling Anecdote
Trump told attendees that just before learning about the emerging pandemic, his pollsters delivered what he described as extraordinarily positive news. "They said, sir, if George Washington and Abraham Lincoln came back from the dead and they aligned, and they went for the president, vice president as a combination, you'd be beating them by 25 points," Trump claimed.
The former president then described how the situation rapidly changed. "And then the next day I was told that something strange is happening," he continued. "There's a lot of death being reported in a certain country. I won't tell you which one because that country is well represented here."
History of Questionable Claims
This isn't the first time Trump has made this specific claim about outperforming America's most revered presidents. He offered similar anecdotes in both 2021 and 2022, despite fact-checkers casting doubt on the veracity of such polling comparisons.
A CNN analysis from 2019 noted that when Trump recounts stories where someone addresses him as "sir," the details are "very likely to be wrong." This pattern has continued with the Washington-Lincoln polling story, which lacks any independent verification.
Current Political Reality
While Trump continues to repeat this narrative, his current approval rating stands at 43.1% according to RealClearPolitics, significantly lower than the mythical numbers he describes in his anecdote.
The response on social media suggests these claims aren't resonating as they might have earlier in his political career. One user sarcastically suggested Trump should now aim to beat religious figures, while others questioned the identity of the supposed pollsters and the specific poll referenced.
Trump's Kennedy Center appearance also featured his assessment of the pandemic response. "We did a great job with COVID, but that was a horrible thing for the whole world," he stated. "The whole world suffered. Your countries suffered. Everybody suffered."
