Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gallup Just Revealed Who the 'Most Admired' Man and Woman of 2018 Are and Trump Won't Be Happy

Gallup Just Revealed Who the 'Most Admired' Man and Woman of 2018 Are and Trump Won't Be Happy
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to First Lady Melania Trump at the Congressional Ball at White House in Washington on December 15, 2018. (Photo by Yuri Gripas-Pool/Getty Images)

The people have spoken.

Since 1946, Gallup conducts an annual poll to find out which man and woman is the most admired by people in the United States. In an open-ended question, respondents are asked to name "the man and woman living anywhere in the world today whom they admire most."

The exact question according to Gallup is:


"What man/woman that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most? And who is your second choice?"

This year's results had some first and some repeat performances.

For the 11th consecutive year, former President Barack Obama topped the list for man most admired by people in the United States. His first time on the list came when he was President-elect, then eight times while President, followed by two years now as former President.

This marks only the 13th time in 72 years of the poll that the sitting President has not been the most admired man. This is President Trump's second year to not make the top spot.

The full list of most admired men are:

  1. Barack Obama (19%)
  2. Donald Trump (13%)
  3. George W. Bush (2%)
  4. Pope Francis (2%)
  5. Bill Gates (1%)
  6. Bernie Sanders (1%)
  7. Bill Clinton (1%)
  8. Dalai Lama (1%)
  9. Joe Biden, 1%
  10. Elon Musk (1%)

For most admired woman, a first timer unseated the person who held the position for 17 straight years. Former Secretary of State, Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton made the top spot from 2000-2017.

But this year, former First Lady Michelle Obama took a commanding lead for top spot, with 15% naming her the most admired woman in the world. She had 10 percentage points over Oprah Winfrey who came in second at 5% while her husband beat Trump by six percentage points.

The full list of most admired women in the world for people in the United States is:

  1. Michelle Obama (15%)
  2. Oprah Winfrey (5%)
  3. Hillary Clinton (4%)
  4. Melania Trump (4%)
  5. Queen Elizabeth II (2%)
  6. Angela Merkel (2%)
  7. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2%)
  8. Ellen DeGeneres (2%)
  9. Nikki Haley (1%)
  10. Malala Yousafzai (1%)

First Lady Melania Trump faired worse than her husband, making only the fourth spot on the list behind Obama, Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. The current FLOTUS garnered only 4% support compared to her husband's 13%.

Former FLOTUS Obama previously finished in second place behind Clinton three times.

HRH Queen Elizabeth II made her 50th appearance on the list of most admired women. And while politics and business comprised the top ten men, women were drawn from entertainment and activism as well.

Winfrey appeared on the list for the 31st time. Secretary Clinton appeared for the 27th time.

Clinton also finished first a total of 22 times, more than any other man or woman.

President Obama closed the gap on the record for most times as Most Admired Man. President Dwight Eisenhower holds the record at 12 times, however only 10 of those times were in consecutive years.

President Trump joins President Gerald Ford as the only sitting Presidents to never get the top spot while in office. The other seven times a sitting President was not in the top spot occurred when once popular Presidents saw their job approval ratings fall.

President Trump potentially has at least two more chances to be the most admired man while still in office. But no President has made the top spot with job approval ratings as poor as Trump's.

Of course the Trump's do have some ardent admirers.

And the split between Democrats, independents and Republicans reflected in the poll results as well as at the polls back in November.

While Democrats and independents kept largely the same order top to bottom for the first top five spots, Republicans varied greatly from both groups. However their strong support of the Trump's allowed both to make the list.

Gallup poll results by political affiliation. (Gallup)

Although Barack and Michelle Obama garnered 7% and 5% admiration respectively from Republicans, Donald and Melania Trump both drew only 1% from Democrats. The Obamas drew 13% and 12% from independents while the Trumps drew 10% and only 2% from the same group.

Polls and popularity are deeply important to President Trump. The idea of his popularity dominates his Twitter feed.

So how does he feel to lose to President Barack Obama again and be the only second sitting President to never be the most admired man for people in the United States, his constituents?

Trump has yet to address the Gallup poll results, but the likelihood it will be dismissed as "fake news" like anything else that fails to flatter Trump is high.

More from People/donald-trump

Jasmine Crockett; JD Vance
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images; Caylo Seals/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Gives JD Vance Blunt Reality Check After He Tries To Mock Her 'Street Girl Persona'

Texas Republican Jasmine Crockett hit back at Vice President JD Vance after he criticized her "street girl persona" during an appearance at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest.

Speaking on stage, Vance mocked Crockett's ambitions to join the Senate—she recently launched a campaign—and received supportive "boos" from the conservative crowd when he said:

Keep ReadingShow less
A group of people in medical scrubs walking down a hallway
group of doctors walking on hospital hallway
Photo by Luis Melendez on Unsplash

Healthcare Workers Share The Common Medical Myths That Drive Them Crazy

It's safe to say the majority of people have a somewhat romanticized view of medicine, largely owing to soap operas or prime time medical dramas.

Others have an equally skewed, if somewhat sadder, grasp on medicine, after being raised to fear or not trust doctors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Erika Kirk and Nicki Minaj
Turning Point USA

Nicki Minaj Awkwardly Calls JD Vance An 'Assassin' While Speaking To Erika Kirk—And Nicki's Reaction Is All Of Us

Rapper Nicki Minaj had quite the awkward moment at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest over the weekend after she attempted to compliment Vice President JD Vance by calling him an "assassin" before realizing her error.

That's a significant blunder from the newly-minted MAGA performer, considering she said these words while talking to Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, whose husband, far-right activist Charlie Kirk, was assassinated at a college event in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man writing on paper with a pen
man writing on paper
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

People Share Secrets From Their Jobs That Everyone Should Know

No matter your profession, no workplace is without some element of office gossip.

Juicy as this may be between co-workers, the information spread has little consequence outside the walls of the office or workplace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Timothee Chalamet; EsDeeKid
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage; EsDeeKid/YouTube

Timothée Chalamet Cheekily Responds To Rumors He's Viral UK Rapper With New Music Video

Is actor Timothée Chalamet actually who he says he is? Or is he secretly a masked rapper from the United Kingdom?

The answer may seem obvious but it's a legitimate mystery on the internet, and the lengths Chalamet has gone to to dispel the rumors are only making people more suspicious!

Keep ReadingShow less