Majority of Americans wish Obama was president rather than Trump

The majority of Americans really wish they could have Barack Obama back in office, new political polling shows.

A recent report from Public Policy Polling, a left-leaning political research group, shows 52 per cent of American voters wish Mr Obama was still president. Only 41 per cent would prefer the current president, Donald Trump.

The reasons for this are varied: Most voters think Mr Trump is dishonest, and has failed in his promise to “make America great again”. They also disapprove of him calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Little Rocket Man”.

But what has most voters yearning for Mr Obama, it seems, is the previous President's stance on health care. Only 23 per cent of Americans support the latest attempt to repeal Mr Obama’s signature healthcare legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). More than fifty per cent disapprove of the attempts.

In fact, only 32 per cent of Americans want to repeal the ACA at all, despite Republicans’ years of promises to do exactly that. More than 60 per cent of Americans want to keep the ACA in place and make changes where necessary.

Republicans in the House and Senate have tried repeatedly to repeal the law in the last eight months. The attempts – most of which would have resulted in millions of people losing health insurance – sparked protests across the country. Voters are now more likely to vote for an incumbent who supports the ACA than one who voted to repeal it, according to the polling.

In fact, other polls have shown that most Americans support Medicare for All – a Bernie Sanders-backed policy that would extend health care coverage even farther than the ACA. A Quinnipiac poll from August showed 51 per cent of voters support expanding Medicare, while a June poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed 57 per cent support it.

Still, Mr Trump has said Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal the ACA failed only because a Republican senator was in the hospital. (He was not.)

“I feel we have the votes,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday. “I'm almost certain we have the votes."