December 27, 2017

Trump Loses “Most Admired Man” Title to Predecessor

Obama tops the list for the tenth year in a row.

Bastiaan Slabbers/ZUMA

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Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have topped Gallup’s list for the most admired man and woman living anywhere in the world—the tenth consecutive year for the former president and the 16th such recognition for the former secretary of state. According to Gallup, which released its 2017 findings Wednesday, Obama is the first former president to win the title since President Dwight Eisenhower did in 1968.

Obama edged out President Donald Trump 17 to 14 percent, marking the second year in a row Obama beat Trump for the distinction. Clinton narrowly topped Michelle Obama 9 to 7 percent. 

Trump’s second place standing adds his name to a rare subset of incumbent presidents; those who failed to be named Gallup’s most admired man. The six others who failed to top the list include Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush.

Gallup has published the most admired man and woman list every year except for one since 1946.

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is the first thing despots go after. An unwavering commitment to it is probably what draws you to Mother Jones' journalism. And as we're seeing in the US and the world around, authoritarians seek to poison the discourse and the way we relate to each other because they can't stand people coming together around a shared sense of the truth—it's a huge threat to them.

Which is also a pretty great way to describe Mother Jones' mission: People coming together around the truth to hold power accountable.

And right now, we need to raise about $400,000 from our online readers over the next two months to hit our annual goal and make good on that mission. Read more about the information war we find ourselves in and how people-powered, independent reporting can and must rise to the challenge—and please support our team's truth-telling journalism with a donation if you can right now.

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