President Donald Trump is the most admired man in America, according to the 2020 Gallup poll.
The outgoing president takes over the spot held by former President Barack Obama for 12 years in the long-running annual poll. Last year, Trump and Obama tied for first. Trump finished second to Obama in 2017 and 2018.
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Gallup says that 18% of respondents named Trump as the most admired man in 2020. Obama was second at 15%.
The survey found that former first lady Michelle Obama is still the most admired woman for the third year in a row. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was second.
The poll was conducted by telephone in the first three weeks of December and sampled more than 1,000 Americans with a margin of error of 4 percentage points., according to Gallup.
Most Admired Man
Gallup has polled about the nation’s most admired man for 74 years. In 60 of those years, the incumbent president has topped the list. Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Trump have been the only incumbent presidents who did not finish first in past years.
In this year’s poll, 48% of Republicans named Trump. Nobody else received more than 2% of Republicans’ votes, Gallup said.
Thirty-two percent of Democrats named Barack Obama. President-elect Joe Biden was third overall and second among Democrats. Dr. Anthony Fauci placed fourth with 5% of Democrats choosing him, but only 1% of Republicans.
The remaining top 10 men include Pope Francis, businessman Elon Musk, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, basketball player LeBron James, and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists.
A high percentage of people named someone who wasn’t a public figure. Eleven percent chose a relative or friend as the man they admire most while 21% did not offer a response.
This is Trump’s 10th year in the top 10 since 1988.
Other facts from Gallup:
- The late Rev. Billy Graham holds the record for most appearances in the top 10 with 61 mentions
- Former Pres. Ronald Reagan has made the top 10 list 31 times
- Former Pres. Jimmy Carter has the most top 10 finishes of anyone still alive with 29 mentions
Most Admired Woman
Gallup has polled Americans about their most admired woman 71 times since 1948. A current or former first lady has won 57 times. Hillary Clinton finished first every year from 1997 to 2017 except for 2001 when Laura Bush was named. Michelle Obama has won since 2018.
This year 10% of Americans named Obama, while 6% named Harris and 4% named first lady Melania Trump.
The remainder of the top 10 most admired women this year include television personality Oprah Winfrey, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Clinton, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Queen Elizabeth II, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
Sixteen percent of Americans name a relative or friend as the woman they admire most, and 19% do not have an opinion.
Other facts from Gallup:
- Queen Elizabeth has more top 10 finishes than anyone else with 52
- Margaret Thatcher is second with 34 appearances
- Oprah Winfrey has been in the top 10 33 times
Read more about the 2020 Gallup Poll here.