Published 01:35 IST, December 30th 2020
Trump ends Obama’s 12-year streak as 'most admired man' on Gallup survey
The outgoing president’s public approval ratings during his term fall far short of Obama’s, with a high and low of 67/40 for Obama and 49/35 for Trump.
Outgoing US President Donald Trump has ended his predecessor Barack Obama’s 12-year run as “most admired man” in an annual Gallup survey released on December 29. According to the survey, 18 percent of Americans chose Trump for the title, with Obama coming second with 15 percent of votes. Trump had tied Obama for the honour last year; however, this year, his first-place tied with Dwight Eisenhower for the most admired ever.
The incumbent president’s public approval ratings during his term fall far short of Obama’s, with a high and low of 67/40 for Obama and 49/35 for Trump, as per Gallup. However, Trump still enjoys strong support within his Republican Party base. Among the Americans, 48 percent Republicans named Trump "most admired man" of the year. Obama, on the other hand, was still on the top choice among Democrats with 32 percent, down from 41 percent last year.
‘Most admired man’ list
Meanwhile, some of the other top 10 men in this year’s survey included Tesla CEO and businessman Elon Musk, Senator Bernie Sanders, basketball player LeBron James, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, and Bill Gates. The year 2020 marks the 10th time Trump has finished among the top 10 men, including four times before he entered party politics.
Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates has finished in the top 10 a total of 21 times, while Obama has now done so 15 times and the Dalai Lama 11 times. According to the survey, Biden has been in the top 10 once before, in 2018, while Anthony Fauci and LeBron James are new to the list.
Michelle Obama, on the other hand, ranks as "most admired woman" for the third year in a row and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris stood second. In addition to the public figures, 11 percent Americans even named a relative or friend as the man they admire most. Gallup had surveyed 1,018 adults from December 1 to 17. The poll has a margin of error plus or minus four percentage points.
Updated 01:35 IST, December 30th 2020