Donald Trump and Barack Obama are both named most admired man of 2019
The result portrays just how evenly divided the US is politically this year.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump have both been named as the most admired man of 2019, according to a new survey.
In a result that portrays the continued divide between conservative and liberal US politics, the current president and his immediate precedessor both received 18% of the votes in the 72nd annual Gallup poll for most admired man as voted by Americans.
Votes fell strictly along party lines as 41% of Democrats named Obama as their most admired man and 45 percent of Republicans went with Trump.
The former and current president were well ahead of their runners-up Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Jimmy Carter, who all scored approximately 2% in the poll.
This year was was the 12th time Obama was recognized as the most admired man. However it was Trump’s first time at the top of the list, according to Gallup.
‘Relatively few Democrats choose Trump and relatively few Republicans pick Obama, while independents’ choices are divided about equally between the two men,’ according to the poll.
US incumbent presidents have dominated the polling in the past as 58 of the last 72 lists were topped by the current Commander in Chief.
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The poll for most admired woman was much more concise this year with Michelle Obama earning the 2019 distinction with a 10% vote, which saw her as the only woman in the double digits.
This year was the second year in a row Michelle Obama has earned the distinction, although she is down from the 15% she polled at last year. However, she finished stronger in the last two years than during her eight years in the White House, which saw her earn no more than 8% of the vote.
Melania Trump came in second place this year with a 5% vote. The former and current first ladies finished ahead of Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg, who each received approximately 3% of the vote.