Donald Trump won the presidential election, but Barack Obama still bested the president-elect as the man Americans are most likely to say they admire in 2016.
According to a new Gallup poll, 22 percent of Americans polled named Obama when asked to name a living man they most admire. Trump was the second most admired man, with 15 percent of mentions.
Obama has been the Gallup poll’s “most admired man” nine years in a row. The latest seven-percentage-point margin between Obama and Trump, however, is his closest margin of victory to date.
“Obama’s win over Trump this year is largely a result of the president earning more mentions among Democrats than Trump receives from Republicans,” Gallup explained. “Fifty percent of Democrats named Obama as most admired, compared with 34% of Republicans choosing Trump.”
As the polling firm noted, sitting presidents are named the nation’s “most admired” more often than not. In the 70 times Gallup has surveyed the issue, presidents won the distinction 58 times.
Other admired men included Pope Francis who placed third with four percent of mentions and Bernie Sanders who came in fourth place with two percent. Rounding out the top ten (all with around one percent of mentions) were Rev. Billy Graham, Benjamin Netanyahu, The Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Mike Pence.
“This year marks the 60th time Graham has finished in the top 10 — a Gallup record,” the polling firm noted. “That includes making it into the top 10 every year since 1955, with the exception of the 1962 survey and in 1976, when the question was not asked.”
Trump has appeared in the top ten at least five times prior to his election, in 1988, 1989, 1990, 2011, and 2015. This is Pence’s first appearance in the top ten.
When asked what woman they most admired, Americans polled named Hillary Clinton the most often. She received 12 percent of mentions. Michelle Obama was the second “most admired” with eight percent of mentions.
Clinton has been named “Most Admired Woman” 15 years in a row and 21 times overall since 1993. Mother Teresa bested Clinton for the titled in 1995 and 1996. Laura Bush beat Clinton in 2001.
The rest of the top ten admired women included Angela Merkel (three percent), Oprah Winfrey (three percent), Ellen DeGeneres (two percent), Queen Elizabeth (two percent), Malala Yousafzai (two percent), Condoleezza Rice (two percent), Elizabeth Warren (one percent), and Sarah Palin (one percent).
The poll, released Wednesday, is based on a Dec. 7-11 poll of 1,028 adults in the United States and has a margin of error of -/+ four percentage points.