Sorry, Donald Trump, But Barack Obama Was Voted The Most Admired Man Of 2017
Step aside, President Trump. The results are in and Barack Obama is the most admired man of 2017, according to an annual Gallup poll. The poll results mark the first time since 2008 that a sitting president hasn't been awarded the honor of most admirable. However, are the results that shocking?
The former president won the title in a close call. According to the research, 17 percent of participants deemed Obama the most admirable, and 14 percent named Trump. If anything, the close vote is more of a surprise.
To accompany Obama's man of the year title, Gallup found Hillary Clinton to be the most admirable woman of the year. Clinton, with a 9 percent poll passed Michelle Obama by 2 percent. Interestingly enough, Obama and Clinton have maintained the title together for the past 10 years. Clinton has received the title of most admirable woman more than any other, marking 16 years in a row, and 22 times altogether. Eleanor Roosevelt, who comes in second, has been named 13 times. Obama, who has been named 10 times, comes right behind former president Dwight Eisenhower, who has earned the title 12 times. Despite Obama and Clinton's victories, Gallup determined that their "win" this year was "by much narrower margins than in the past."
Gallup has polled Americans on the question of the most admired man and woman 71 times since since 1946. Of those 71 times, the sitting president has won 58 of those times. The results showed the partisan opinions of the former and current president, finding that 35 percent of Republicans said Trump was the most admired man of the year, and 39 percent of Democrats said Obama. The findings also revealed that a quarter of Americans could not name a man or a woman they admired most.
The runners up trailing behind President Trump were Pope Francis, Rev. Billy Graham, and John McCain, and behind Michelle Obama was Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Warren, and Angela Merkel.
After winning the 2016 presidential election, Trump received the 2016 Time's Person of the Year accolade. This year, however, Trump lost the award to the "Silence Breakers" of the #MeToo movement. After nearly a year into his presidency, a CNN poll among adults indicated that only 35 percent of Americans approved of Trump in mid-December 2017. It's no surprise that Trump didn't quite make the cut for most admirable this year.
Gallup researcher Jeffrey Jones wrote, "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."
Another interesting finding from the poll was the phasing out of former President Bill Clinton. The former president did not make the top 10 cut this year, which is the first time in 25 years, including while he served in office from 1993 to 2000.
Clinton, who won the popular vote in the 2016 election, has still maintained her prominence and platform with Trump in office. Even after a year of public scrutiny, including her email server scandal, Clinton is still viewed as the most admirable women by the American participants. That being said, Jones predicts that winning for a 17th consecutive time is "less certain," considering Clinton's popularity and percentage is on the decline. Jones wrote, "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."
The results show that a majority of Americans still admire Obama, and even Clinton, more than President Trump. Considering his popularity only been a year into his presidency, who knows if Trump will even make the top 10 next year.
