US President Donald Trump, a prickly purveyor of poll numbers, is not going to like this one bit — Americans have voted his predecessor Barack Obama as the most admired man for the 10th year in a row, according to Gallup.
Trump trailed Obama, and they were followed by Pope Francis, evangelist Bill Graham, John McCain, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and vice president Mike Pence, among others.
In a further slight to Trump, his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton continues to be voted the most admired woman, 10 years running, in the same poll. She beat former first lady Michelle Obama, who were followed by Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Warren (a possible democratic presidential nominee in 2020), and current first lady Melania Trump.
Also, for the first time, an Indian American made it to the list of 10 most admired women by Americans — Nikki Haley shared 10th place with Kate Middleton and Beyonce Knowles.
Haley has emerged as one of the most popular members of Trump’s cabinet, aggressively litigating on the world stage some of its most controversial goals, such as the move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. But she has also not been shy to disagree with him, and publicly.
But that is unlikely to be the reason why Trump may fling the poll in the trash bin. He hated trailing in opinion polls, and has spent considerable time since assuming office in trashing Obama, his administration, his record and his policies.
{{/usCountry}}But that is unlikely to be the reason why Trump may fling the poll in the trash bin. He hated trailing in opinion polls, and has spent considerable time since assuming office in trashing Obama, his administration, his record and his policies.
{{/usCountry}}It is to be noted that Trump is among the few US presidents to have missed being named the most admired, along with Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.