Barack Obama edges out Donald Trump as most admired man
Hillary Clinton wins narrow victory over Michelle Obama
Clinton has won the past 16 years; Obama the past 10
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans once again are most likely to name Barack
Obama and Hillary Clinton as the man and woman living anywhere in the
world they admire most, as they have for the past 10 years. The pair retain
their titles this year, although by much narrower margins than in the
past. Obama edges out Donald Trump, 17% to 14%, while Clinton edges out
Michelle Obama, 9% to 7%.
Most Admired Man and Woman -- Recent Trend for Top Finishers in 2017
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
%
%
%
%
%
Most Admired Man
Barack Obama
16
19
17
22
17
Donald Trump
*
*
5
15
14
Pope Francis
4
6
5
4
3
Rev. Billy Graham
2
2
1
1
2
John McCain
*
*
*
*
2
Elon Musk
*
*
*
*
2
Bernie Sanders
*
*
3
2
1
Bill Gates
1
1
2
1
1
Benjamin Netanyahu
*
1
*
1
1
Jeff Bezos
*
*
*
*
1
The Dalai Lama
*
*
1
1
1
Mike Pence
*
*
*
1
1
Most Admired Woman
Hillary Clinton
15
12
13
12
9
Michelle Obama
5
3
4
8
7
Oprah Winfrey
6
8
4
3
4
Elizabeth Warren
*
1
1
1
3
Angela Merkel
1
1
2
3
2
Queen Elizabeth II
1
1
2
2
2
Condoleezza Rice
2
4
1
2
1
Melania Trump
*
*
*
*
1
Nikki Haley
*
*
*
*
1
Duchess Kate Middleton
1
2
*
1
1
Beyonce Knowles
*
1
*
*
1
Note: Combined first and second mentions; Rankings are based on total number
of responses; *Less than 0.5%
Gallup, Dec. 4-11, 2017
The 2017 survey marks the 16th consecutive year Clinton has been the most admired woman. She has held
the title 22 times in total, more than anyone else. Eleanor Roosevelt
is second with 13 wins. Obama has now been named the most admired man
10 times, trailing only Dwight Eisenhower, who earned the distinction
12 times. Obama won all eight years he was president, plus 2008 -- the
year he was first elected -- and this year, his first as a former president.
But Clinton's and Obama's standings this year are more tenuous
than in the past. The 9% who name Clinton is the lowest percentage she
has received since 2002, when 7% named her in another close first-place
finish. Clinton won the title this year in the same poll she registered a
personal low favorable rating. This indicates she remains top of mind for enough people who like her
to be named more than any other woman in response to the open-ended question,
finishing ahead of some women who may be better liked overall but are
not as prominent in people's minds.
The percentage of adults naming Obama as the most admired man is down from
22% last year, but he has been at or near 17% in several other years.
A quarter of Americans cannot name a man or a woman they admire most. Nine
percent name a relative or friend as the most admired man, and 13% do
so for the most admired woman.
Trump One of Small Number of Incumbent Presidents Not to Win Distinction
Gallup has asked the most admired man question
71 times since 1946 -- all but in 1976. The incumbent president has won 58 of those times.
Previous incumbent presidents who did not finish first include Harry Truman
in 1946-1947 and 1950-1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1967-1968, Richard Nixon
in 1973, Gerald Ford in 1974-1975, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and George W.
Bush in 2008. All but Truman in 1947 and Ford in 1974 had job approval
ratings well below 50%,
like Trump.
As would be expected for a Republican president, Trump wins handily among
Republicans -- 35% name him as the man they admire most, with only 1%
naming Obama. In contrast, Obama leads among Democrats, with 39% mentioning
him and 3% Trump. Independents are slightly more likely to name Obama
(12%) than Trump (9%).
After Trump and Obama, the remainder of the top 10 list for men includes
Pope Francis, Rev. Billy Graham (for a record 61st time), Sen. John McCain, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, Sen. Bernie Sanders,
businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, and three men tied for 10th -- Vice President Mike Pence, the Dalai Lama and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Bezos and Musk made the top 10 this year for the first time.
In addition to Graham, many of the other top 10 male finishers have been
on the list numerous times, including Gates (18 times), Obama (12), the
Dalai Lama (eight), Trump (seven), McCain (six) and Pope Francis (five).
One notable person missing from the top 10 list this year is Bill Clinton,
whose string of 25 consecutive top 10 finishes ended this year. Clinton
was No. 1 on the list each of his eight years as president from 1993 to 2000.
Oprah Winfrey Finishes in Top 10 for 30th Time
Hillary Clinton has finished in the top 10 26 times, the fifth most among
women. She trails two of this year's other top 10 finishers -- Queen
Elizabeth II (who holds the record for women, with 49 appearances) and
Oprah Winfrey (named for the 30th time, third behind former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's
34 appearances and ahead of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' 28 during
their lifetimes).
Despite their frequent appearances on the list, neither the queen nor Winfrey
has ever finished first. Queen Elizabeth II was second in 1952, 1957,
1958 and 1962. Winfrey has finished second 13 times, most recently in 2014.
Joining Clinton, Queen Elizabeth II and Winfrey in the top 10 this year
are Michelle Obama, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, first lady Melania Trump,
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Duchess of Cambridge
Kate Middleton and Beyonce Knowles. Trump, Haley and Knowles are new to
the top 10. Rice has finished in the top 10 17 times, Obama 10 times,
Merkel five times, and Warren and the duchess four times each.
Clinton was the choice of 22% of Democrats, with Obama next at 12%. Among
independents, Obama had 8% of mentions and Clinton 5%. No woman registered
5% among Republicans, with Rice named by 4% and Clinton, Trump and Haley
named by 3%. Republicans are much more likely to name relatives (19%)
than Democrats (9%) or independents (12%) are.
Implications
Hillary Clinton has been named most admired more than any woman -- or man
-- in Gallup's polling history. 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. 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.
Trump's unpopularity is holding him back from winning the most admired
distinction. The incumbent president is the usual winner, since he is
arguably the most prominent figure in the country -- but when the president
is unpopular, other well-known and well-liked men have been able to finish
first. Obama, like Hillary Clinton, may fade in prominence the longer
he is out of office. Former presidents commonly make the top 10 list but
rarely win, with Obama only the second to do so, along with Eisenhower
in 1967 and 1968.
Survey Methods
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted
Dec. 4-11, 2017, with a random sample of 1,049 adults, aged 18 and older,
living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results
based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error
is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported
margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone
respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas
by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are
selected using random-digit-dial methods.
