Most Admired Persons: Obama, Hillary Beat Trump in Gallup Poll
President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton 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%.
The 2017 Gallup 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 according to the Gallup poll, 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.
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.
The poll reveals that 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.
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. The findings of the poll were released Wednesday, December 27.
Photo courtesy: Hillary Clinton
