Two of the nation’s most diametrically opposed political figures top this year’s Gallup survey of the nation’s most admired man and woman.
President Donald Trump toppled his predecessor, Barack Obama, as Gallup’s most admired man in 2020, ending the former president’s 12-year run atop the list. Obama’s dozen-year reign, according to Gallup, is tied with Dwight D. Eisenhower for the most. Trump tied Obama for the honor last year.
For the third consecutive year, former first lady Michelle Obama ranked as the nation’s most admired woman. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was second.
Barack Obama finished behind Trump in this year’s ranking. Coming in third was President-elect Joe Biden, followed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Pope Francis; billionaire and SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Microsoft’s billionaire co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates; NBA superstar LeBron James; and the Dalai Lama.
When broken down along national political party lines, Gallup said 48% of Republicans named Trump this year, with no other public figure receiving more than 2% of their votes. Barack Obama is the top choice among Democrats, at 32%, but that is down from last year’s 41%. Biden (13%) was also commonly named by Democrats.
Fauci is named by 5% of Democrats but only 1% of Republicans, while independents are split between Trump (11%) and Obama (11%), with another 3% naming Biden and 2% Fauci.
Following Michelle Obama and Harris as most admired woman were first lady Melania Trump; TV personality Oprah Winfrey; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; former first lady Hillary Clinton; U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York; Queen Elizabeth II; Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett; and climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
Pollsters surveyed 1,018 adults Dec. 1-17. The poll has margin of error of 4 percentage points.
“Past, present and future White House occupants, whether presidents or first ladies, have figured prominently when Gallup has asked Americans to name the man and woman they admire most,” Gallup said Tuesday. “As such, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are likely to remain strong contenders for the most admired man title in the coming years.
“Should Trump continue to dominate Republicans’ consciousnesses — currently, Republicans rarely name any other public person than him — he will have a good chance of winning in future years, especially if Democrats continue to split their choices between Obama and Biden,” Gallup said. “Still, former presidents typically have not been top of mind for Americans — only Obama and Eisenhower received 10% or more mentions in any year after they left office.
“Harris’ prominent role in the forthcoming Biden administration should raise her national profile in the coming year, and possibly position her to overtake Michelle Obama as most admired woman.”
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