e.economist.com

The US in Brief: Who is the best president?

2026-02-16 · 11:59 UTC ·The Economist ·6 min read

Brief

The Economist’s Presidents’ Day edition of The US in Brief is a compact political roundup rather than a single thematic article. Its headline item uses a YouGov poll of 20 presidents to show both broad historical consensus—Lincoln and Washington remain the most admired—and rising partisan polarization, with Obama standing out as the only post-Reagan president to retain a net positive balance of opinion. The newsletter then turns to current controversies: Kristi Noem’s remarks while backing proof-of-citizenship voter-registration legislation; bipartisan complaints that the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein document release remains incomplete despite official claims of legal compliance; and a Department of Homeland Security shutdown that leaves essential workers, especially TSA personnel, unpaid while causing some flight disruptions. Additional sections point readers to Economist coverage of climate-regulation rollback, American political history under its “America at 250” project, and culture-war economics via an estimate that the Bud Light boycott cost up to $1.4bn.

Why it matters

The Economist’s 2026-02-16 US politics newsletter mixes a Presidents’ Day polling item with several short updates on election rhetoric, the Epstein files dispute, and a DHS shutdown.

Key details

  • A YouGov survey of Americans’ views on 20 presidents found Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were most often rated “outstanding,” while Barack Obama was the only president since Ronald Reagan with a net positive rating once negative views were subtracted from positive ones.
  • Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem drew backlash after saying the administration wanted to ensure “the right people” were “electing the right leaders” while promoting a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote; she dismissed criticism as “clutching pearls.”
  • Lawmakers in both parties said the Department of Justice was withholding Jeffrey Epstein-related materials, despite the DoJ’s 2026-02-14 claim that it had met its legal obligation to release all files except redactions for victims, ongoing investigations, or national security; Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace said the issue would persist “until people go to jail.”
  • With Congress out of session, the Department of Homeland Security remained shut down, leaving many essential employees—including most TSA staff—working without pay; air-traffic controllers at the Transportation Department were not affected, but some flights had already been cancelled.
  • The newsletter also cited an Indian Express editorial criticizing America’s rollback of environmental regulations as running against global climate-mitigation trends and highlighted a “figure of the day” estimating the Bud Light boycott cost as high as $1.4bn.
Cleaned source text

title: The US in Brief: Who is the best president?

author: The Economist

content_type: newsletter

publication: e.economist.com

published: 2026-02-16T05:59:51-06:00

source_url: gmail://19c66525747fa899

word_count: 1357

Also: Barack Obama, on aliens

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 16th 2026 For subscribers

The US in Brief

A sharp round-up of the most important political news

You can listen to anarrated version of this newsletter each day.

Happy Presidents ’ Day. In advance of the holiday, YouGov asked Americans their opinions of 20 of the country’s leaders. Unsurprisingly, they were mostly likely to describe Abraham Lincoln and George Washington as “outstanding”. But that is only half of the story. Subtracting the negative views of a president from the positive ones shows that opinions of recent presidents were more polarised—Barack Obama is the only one since Ronald Reagan to have a net positive rating.

Kristi Noem , the homeland security secretary, accused her critics of “clutching pearls” after her comments about elections provoked a firestorm over the weekend. While advocating for a bill that requires proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, Ms Noem said on Friday that the administration had been trying to “make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders”.

Lawmakers from both parties accused the Department of Justice of withholding materials related to Jeffrey Epstein. On Saturday the DoJ claimed that it had fulfilled a legal requirement that it release all files related to the dead sex offender, omitting or redacting material only to protect victims, ongoing investigations or national security. Lawmakers disagreed. Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman, said “this isn’t going away until people go to jail.”

With Congress out of session for the week, the Department of Homeland Security will remain closed. Many of its workers are considered essential and thus will work through the shutdown without pay. That includes most of the employees of the Transportation Security Administration, which protects transport hubs. Air-traffic controllers, who work for the Transportation Department, are unaffected. Still, some flights have already been cancelled.

KAL flashback

IIllustration: KAL

Every Monday we republish a KAL cartoon on American politics. In 2009 Lexington wrote about how the both parties fought for the title of the “party of Lincoln” in advance of Honest Abe ’s 200th birthday. _The Economist_ has republished the column as part of our “America at 250” project. What better occasion than Presidents’ Day could there be to read a bunch of Brits opining on their rebellious cousins?

A view from elsewhere

The American rollback of environmental regulations “bucks the trend in global-warming mitigation efforts” wrote the editorial board of the _ Indian Express. _The rich world’s lack of enthusiasm for net-zero targets is in part “due to misinformation”. But “environment-friendly leaders in the developed world” have “failed to communicate that sustainability means good economics”. Climate deniers like Mr Trump “have thrived as a result”.

Figure of the day

Up to $1.4bn , the cost of a boycott of Bud Light, inspired by the beer’s decision to sponsor a transgender influencer. Read our story about how MAGA is better at tearing down brands than building its own.

We want to hear from you

What do you think about the recent revelations about Jeffrey Epstein’s network? Do you think that the Department of Justice is handling the affair well? Write to us at usib@economist.com and we will publish some of your views on Wednesday. And, of course, we welcome your feedback on this newsletter.

Editor’s picks

A selection of must-read articles

Untaxing

Donald Trump’s schemes to juice the economy

Watch out for sneaky stimulus

A nightmare, quantified

Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s network

What 1.4m emails reveal about America’s most notorious sex offender

Checks and Balance newsletter

The death of the “endangerment finding”

John Prideaux, our US editor, says the rollback of climate regulation reveals a deeper story about American governance

America at 250

Earlier presidents would recognise—and even approve of—“America First”

Donald Trump’s foreign policy is radical only in tone, writes Kim Darroch

Play the archive

Dateline: The Economist history quiz

Can you guess when these extracts were published?

Daily quiz

From Monday to Thursday we’ll quiz you on all things American. Since today is Presidents’ Day, this week’s questions are about times when presidents exemplified the qualities you would expect of a head of state.

Monday

How did George Washington save the fledgling independence movement’s money when he became the revolutionary army’s commander-in-chief?

To play this week’s quiz, email all your answers with your name and where you are from to usib@economist.com before 5pm New York time (10pm London time) on Thursday. The weekly winner, chosen at random from those who give all the right answers, will be announced on this page on Friday.

Heard in conversation with Brian Tyler Cohen

They ’re real, but I haven’t seen them.

—Barack Obama, a former president, on aliens.

A MESSAGE FROM ECONOMIST EDUCATION

Influence and persuasion in business

Register

Learn about Economist Education

Download our app for iOS and Android

This email has been sent to spence.burleigh@gmail.com because you signed up for this newsletter or because it is included in your subscription.

Registered in England and Wales. No. 236383.

The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6HT

View email online Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions

Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2026. All rights reserved.

This email was sent to: spence.burleigh@gmail.com

This email was sent by: The Economist Newspaper Ltd., The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London, London, WC2N 6HT, GB