Obama edges out Trump as most-admired man

President Donald Trump is the second-most admired man in the world among Americans, joining a small group of incumbent presidents who failed to win Gallup’s top distinction while in office.

Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, and vanquished general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, retain their titles as the man and woman Americans most admire, according to the Gallup poll released Wednesday morning.

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Obama edged out Trump, 17 percent to 14 percent, to win his 10th most-admired title. He won the year he was elected president, each year in the White House and his first year out of office. Only former President Dwight Eisenhower has won Gallup’s most-admired title more times than Obama has. (Eisenhower was so named 12 times).

Clinton narrowly bested former first lady Michelle Obama, 9 percent to 7 percent, retaining her honor for the 16th consecutive year. The former senator, secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee has won 22 times overall, the most ever.

“But the likelihood that she will continue to hold that honor in future years seems less certain, with her popularity at a nadir and the percentage naming her as most-admired the lowest in 15 years,” Gallup said. “She managed to win this year because she remains arguably more prominent than other contenders. However, retaining that stature may be more challenging in coming years with her political career likely over.”

Gallup added that Barack Obama, like Clinton, “may fade in prominence the longer he is out office,” noting that former presidents are often in the top 10, but rarely ever win.

The incumbent president has won the most-admired honor 58 times out of the 71 times since 1946 that Gallup has posed the question. (Gallup didn’t ask the question in 1976.) Trump joins Harry Truman (1946-1947, 1950-1952), Lyndon B. Johnson (1967-1968), Richard Nixon (1973), Gerald Ford (1974-1975), Jimmy Carter (1980) and George W. Bush (2008) as presidents who didn’t finish first despite holding America’s most powerful position. Each aforementioned president had approval ratings well below 50 percent.

The 2017 list of most-admired men is rounded out with Pope Francis (third); the Rev. Billy Graham, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Elon Musk (tied for fourth); and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Bill Gates, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Bezos, the Dalai Lama and Vice President Mike Pence (tied for fifth).

The roster of most-admired women includes Oprah Winfrey (third); Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (fourth); German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Queen Elizabeth II (tied for fifth); and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, first lady Melania Trump, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Duchess Kate Middleton and Beyoncé (tied for sixth).

About 25 percent of Americans can’t name a man or woman they admire most. Nine percent name a relative or friend as the man they admire most, while 13 percent do the same for women.

The poll of 1,049 adults was conducted Dec. 4-11 via landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.