Presidential Comparison

Trump vs Obama

Last updated: March 28th, 2024

This page has the comparisons between Trump vs Obama across all the metrics we track. President Trump and President Obama data are no longer in office. Their data has been set to be as equivalent by days in office to make a fair comparison of their performance. This accounts for presidents that had one term vs two terms, or presidents that had a much shortened term.

With respect to cumulative performance, Donald Trump has performed better on 0 out of the 5 metrics we track. President Trump's lowest performance difference was on NASDAQ Index performing -124.70% worse than President Obama.

We highly recommend you read this article as well prior: What's the best way to interpret the facts and data on Facts First?

Trump vs. Obama stock market performance

How does Trump compare to Obama in the stock market? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized performance between Trump and Obama in the stock market. Cumulatively across the S&P 500, Trump is at 67.26% compared to Obama at 166.28% a difference of -99.02%. On the NASDAQ, Trump is at 137.56% compared to Obama at 262.26%  a difference of -124.70%. Finally, on the DOW Jones, Trump is at 56.00% compared to Obama at 138.28% a difference of -82.28%.

Index
Cumulative Performance
Donald TrumpBarack ObamaDifference
NASDAQ137.56%262.26%Trump -124.70%
DOW56.00%138.28%Trump -82.28%
S&P67.26%166.28%Trump -99.02%
Index
Annualized Performance
Donald TrumpBarack ObamaDifference
NASDAQ24.13%17.44%Trump +6.69%
DOW11.75%11.46%Trump +0.29%
S&P13.71%13.01%Trump +0.70%




Trump vs. Obama GDP performance

How does Trump compare to Obama with respect to GDP Growth? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized GDP growth. Cumulatively Trump is at 6.17% compared to Obama at 18.62% a difference of -12.45%

GDP
Donald TrumpBarack ObamaDifference
Cumulative6.17%18.62%Trump -12.45%
Annualized1.53%2.17%Trump -0.64%


Trump vs. Obama jobs growth performance

How does Trump compare to Obama in non-farm payroll? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized jobs created. Cumulatively Trump is at -2.03% compared to Obama at 8.63% a difference of -10.66%

Indicator
Cumulative Gain/Loss
Donald TrumpBarack ObamaDifference
Cumulative-2.03%8.63%Trump -10.66%
Annualized-0.52%1.05%Trump -1.56%


How do we calculate data for Trump vs. Obama?

We capture the data as soon as it’s available to us – stock market data after daily market close, jobs data once a month and GDP data once a quarter. After verifying the raw data, we then calculate updated cumulative and annualized performance data for the current president (the data for previous presidents have been calculated and verified in advance).

Some metrics are measured daily (like stock market performance), monthly (like jobs growth) and quarterly (like GDP growth). We start measurement of performance for a president from the first full time period after their inauguration. For stock market performance, it is the first stock market day in office. For jobs growth, it’s either first full calendar month in office (so if you are inaugurated in the middle of January, the first full month is February). This ensures a consistent starting point across all presidencies.

Also, read these articles in our Learning Center:

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