Trump

Trump thinks he could beat Obama in an election - and for one ridiculous reason

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

He’s only just been dealt a massive blow at the midterms, with the Republican Party losing control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but US president Donald Trump is already back talking about elections – this time claiming he could beat Barack Obama in a presidential race “easily”.

Yes, really.

In an appearance on the Straight Shooter podcast with SiriusXM’s Stephen A. Smith, Trump was told that if he were to run again for president for a third time, so too could his Democratic rival.

“What would Donald Trump do if he had to square off against Barack Obama for the presidency of the United States?” Smith asked.

Trump replied: “Well, I got many more votes than he got, and I got many more votes in the states, and I have most of the state records in the big states. If you look at Texas, I have the all-time record. Florida, I have the all-time record.”

He then responded to another question from Smith in which he claimed he would beat Obama “easily”.

“I didn’t think he was a good president; I thought he was a divider,” Trump said, adding that he would classify himself as “a person that brings people together”.

We’re not joking.

Nevertheless, the remarks were soon met with ridicule on X/Twitter:

“You Turned Texas Blue. Discussion Over,” wrote one account:

Political commentator Majid Padellan, known online as Brooklyn Dad Defiant, tweeted: “I think if trump were to face Obama in a Presidential election, Trump would be HUMILIATED in a way few presidents ever have been”:

As for Trump’s claim that he received more votes than Obama, that’s true. He surpassed the Democrat’s 69.5 million votes in 2008 and 65.9 million votes in 2012 in the 2024 election, when he won 76.9 million votes.

It’s not the case with the electoral college votes, however, as Trump won 304 of those in 2016 and 312 votes in 2024 – neither are nowhere near the 332 electoral college votes Obama won in 2012 and the 365 votes he secured in 2008.

Why not read…?

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)