WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) — Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama have been named the most admired woman and man worldwide by Americans in a Gallup poll released Monday, where Donald Trump and Pope Francis tied for second.
For the most admired women, Democratic presidential candidate Clinton was named the most admired by 13 percent of those polled. Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai ranked second with 5 percent, followed by Oprah Winfrey and first lady Michelle Obama, who tied at 4 percent. Clinton is the record-holder, winning the distinction 20 times — more than the 13 times Eleanor Roosevelt was chosen.
For the most admired men, Obama topped the list with 17 percent, followed by a tie between Pope Francis and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at 5 percent. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is battling Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, ranked fourth with 3 percent.
“Trump’s surprisingly strong and often controversial presidential campaign has made him a prominent news figure this year and, thus, top-of-mind for many Americans,” Gallup writes in the report. “This helps explain his strong showing when Gallup asks Americans, in an open-ended fashion, to name the man they admire most. The successful businessman has finished in the top 10 four other times, including from 1988 through 1990 and in 2011.”
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower has historically been the most admired man with 12 wins, followed by a three-way tie at eight wins between Obama and former presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.
“Although Clinton and Obama each led this year’s poll by significant margins, the percentage mentioning each as most admired is slightly lower than the percentages they have received in the past,” Gallup said in its report. “Across the eight times Obama has been most admired man, an average 23 percent of Americans have named him, while in the 20 times Clinton has been most admired woman, an average 16 percent have named her.”
The poll began in 1946 for men and in 1948 for women. U.S. presidents are usually named the most admired man and the only men to win the distinction at least four times were presidents. Obama first won after winning in the 2008 election.
“Given the prominence of presidents and ex-presidents in the most admired lists, if Clinton succeeds in her presidential bid, she would certainly continue to add to her long list of records in Gallup’s most admired polling,” Gallup writes. “This would include joining Eisenhower as the only two people who have ever been named most admired man or woman before being elected president.”
