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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would “easily” defeat former President Barack Obama in a hypothetical presidential election, calling his Democratic predecessor “highly overrated.”
“Yeah, I think I’d beat him easily,” Trump said during an interview with sports commentator Stephen A. Smith.
The question concerned a hypothetical race in which both men would be allowed to seek another term, although the U.S. Constitution bars anyone from being elected president more than twice.
“I got many more votes than he got,” Trump said, pointing to his electoral performance in states including Texas and Florida.
Asked to explain his criticism of Obama, Trump said he did not consider him a good president.
“I thought he was a divider,” Trump said.
When asked how he would describe himself, Trump replied: “A person that brings people together.”
He argued that economic success could help unite Americans, citing his administration’s claims about investment and economic growth.
The exchange came during a wide-ranging White House interview following Republicans’ sweeping losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump repeatedly argued that the results did not reflect his own political strength because his name was not on the ballot.
Under the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, neither Trump nor Obama could contest the hypothetical election because a person cannot be elected president more than twice.
Obama served two terms from 2009 to 2017. Trump served his first term from 2017 to 2021 before returning to the White House in January 2025.
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