Former President Barack Obama
By Glynn Wilson –
Former President Barack Obama tops President Donald Trump as America’s “most admired man” for 2017, the 10th consecutive year Mr. Obama has received the accolade, according to public opinion polls from Gallup.
The annual survey done every year save one since 1946 asks people to name their most admired man and woman and their second choice.
Mr. Obama came in first this year with 17 percent of the vote. President Trump came in second with 14 percent. Pope Francis got 3 percent of the votes, while the Rev. Billy Graham got 2 percent. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) got 1 percent, along with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also got 1 percent, popping up in the survey for the first time.
Hillary Clinton was named the most admired woman for the 16th year in a row, with 9 percent of mentions. The former secretary of State and presidential candidate has been named most admired more than any other man or woman in polling history, according to Gallup, who notes in a release that her polling numbers this year were the lowest in the past 15 years, making it unlikely for her to hold the top title for much longer.
“She managed to win this year because she remains arguably more prominent than other contenders,” Gallup said. “However, retaining that stature may be more challenging in coming years with her political career likely over.”
Also on the list of admired women were former first lady Michelle Obama, with 7 percent, followed by Oprah Winfrey, with 4 percent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel got 2 percent of the votes. Senator Elizabeth Warren made the list at 1 percent for the first time, along with First lady Melania Trump, Beyoncé Knowles and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Trump is one of few incumbent presidents who have not been named the most admired among all Americans.
Last year, Mr. Obama topped the list with 22 percent, while Trump got 15 percent.
The results predictably fall along party lines, with 35 percent of Republicans naming Trump as their most admired and only 1 percent naming Obama. Among Democrats, 39 percent named Obama, while only 3 percent picked Trump. Independents picked Obama over Trump for their most admired man by a 3-point margin.
The survey was conducted Dec. 4–11 among 1,049 adults and has a margin of sampling error of 4 percentage points.
