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.

Make us preferred on Google

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

Screenshots from @georgiamaythornley's TikTok video
@georgiamaythornley/TikTok

TikToker Lays Out 5 'Tiny Habits' She Stopped Doing After Realizing She Keeps Spending All Her Money

Most people are going to struggle to save money and maintain a budget at least once in their lives, and the most important thing they can do is be honest about their role in their own finances.

TikToker @georgiamaythornley, for example, finally admitted to herself that she was always spending all of her money before she could set any aside for savings, so she started tracking her spending habits.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marco Rubio and Kimberly Guilfoyle
Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Marco Rubio Awkwardly Dodges Question About Kimberly Guilfoyle's Blatant Corruption—As She's Standing Just Feet Away

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was criticized after he shut down a question about former Fox News host and current U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle following a Wall Street Journal report alleging that she engaged in illegal conduct.

The WSJ reported that Guilfoyle asked Eric Deters, a Trump donor and former congressional candidate, to cover $100,000 in credit card debt before her Senate confirmation hearings. The report said she contacted him through Signal, pressing him to arrange the payment that day and explaining how to send the funds directly to American Express.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the stage after speaking during a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Artist Brutally Rips Trump With Naked 'Orange Plague' Sculpture In European Parliament

President Donald Trump has finally received the golden treatment in Europe, although the 8.5-foot-tall naked statue now towering inside the European Parliament probably isn't the tribute he had in mind.

Unveiled in Strasbourg, France, the 23-karat-gold-coated sculpture depicts Trump perched on the shoulders of a smaller, visibly burdened man, clutching an oversized golf club in one hand and the scales of justice in the other.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @bsquaredtravels_'s Instagram reel
@bsquaredtravels_/Instagram

Swedish Man Goes Viral With Hack For Optimizing Taco Fillings—And It's Honestly Genius

There's a lot of discourse when it comes to tacos: what qualifes as a taco, what kind of shell to use, which fillings are acceptable... But one thing we can all agree on? You can never have too many tacos.

Instagrammer @bsquaredtravels_ shared a video of their Swedish brother-in-law totally hacking the system when it comes to tacos, and the internet has gone crazy for it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @maddie_bado's TikTok video
@maddie_bado/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate After Sharing The Signs That You Have A 'Loser Boyfriend' In Viral Videos

Every person who chooses to date will have a list of wished-for traits, attractive traits, and of course, dealbreakers that would likely end the relationship either immediately or, at least, eventually.

TikToker @maddie_bado shared a series on TikTok called "Signs of a Loser Boyfriend," which she believes more women should be aware of so that they can make the most informed decision about what they are gaining from their relationship and whether their partner is able to give them what they want, and vice versa.

Keep ReadingShow less