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Trump supplants Obama as Gallup's 'Most Admired Man'

Ends the former president's 12-year run at top.

Published: December 29, 2020 10:04am

Updated: December 29, 2020 11:30pm

President Trump has supplanted Barack Obama as Gallup's most admired man in America, ending the former president's 12-year run atop the annual ranking.

In 2019, Trump and Obama tied for first place, but this year's arrival of Joe Biden in the national spotlight split the Democratic vote, giving Trump the edge he needed to take the top spot. The president received 18% of the vote, while Obama received 15% and Biden received 6%.

Other top finishers included Dr. Anthony Fauci with 3% and Pope Francis with 2%.

In the 1% club are NBA superstar LeBron James, socialist icon Sen. Bernie Sanders, tech guru Elon Musk, and Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. 

U.S. presidents (sitting and former) have been named the most admired man in 60 of the previous 74 polls conducted — though sitting presidents (including Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush) do not always rank first while in office. 

Obama is currently tied with former president Dwight Eisenhower for most first-place finishes in the poll.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama remains the poll's most admired woman for the third consecutive year. Rounding out that category are notable women including Kamala Harris, First Lady Melania Trump, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Queen Elizabeth II, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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