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Hillary Clinton is no longer the most admired woman in America. Now, it’s Michelle Obama. Gallup has released its annual survey asking Americans to name the living person they admire most. Former first lady Michelle Obama topped the list this year, with 15% of respondents selecting her. This is the first time in 17 years Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and presidential candidate, has not been the most admired woman in the poll. This year, Clinton comes in third place, with 4% of respondents mentioning her. Rounding out the top five women are Oprah Winfrey in second place, first lady Melania Trump in fourth place, and Queen Elizabeth II in fifth place.
Former President Barack Obama is the most admired man in America in this year’s poll, with 19% of respondents naming him. This is the 11th year in a row he has topped the list, and if he does so again in 2019, he’ll tie with Dwight D. Eisenhower for most times being named America’s most admired man. In second place is President Trump, who was named by 13% of respondents, followed by former President George W. Bush, Pope Francis, and Bill Gates. The Most Admired Man and Woman of 2018:
| Most Admired Woman | |
| Michelle Obama | 15% |
| Oprah Winfrey | 5% |
| Hillary Clinton | 4% |
| Melania Trump | 4% |
| Queen Elizabeth | 2% |
| Angela Merkel | 2% |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg | 2% |
| Ellen DeGeneres | 2% |
| Nikki Haley | 1% |
| Malala Yousafzai | 1% |
| Nancy Pelosi | 1% |
| Most Admired Man | |
| Barack Obama | 19% |
| Donald Trump | 13% |
| George W. Bush | 2% |
| Pope Francis | 2% |
| Bill Gates | 1% |
| Bernie Sanders | 1% |
| Bill Clinton | 1% |
| Dalai Lama | 1% |
| Joe Biden | 1% |
| Elon Musk | 1% |
| Mike Pence | 1% |
This year marks only the 13th time in 72 surveys the incumbent president did not win. Usually, the president does not win when he has subpar job approval ratings, as is the case with Trump, Gallup said. Trump and Gerald Ford are the two presidents to date who did not win the honor while in office. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger finished first in 1974 and 1975 after Ford replaced Richard Nixon as president, and the question was not asked in Ford’s final year in office in 1976.
The top 10 list this year is notable for the absence of two men who often ranked high but who passed away in 2018, Sen. John McCain and the Rev. Billy Graham. McCain finished in the top 10 six times, while Graham had more top 10 finishes than any man or woman, a record 61 times. Graham was in the top 10 every year from 1955 through 2017, with the exception of 1962. Graham never finished first, but he was second eight times, most recently in 1999.
Ronald Regan has the second most top 10 finishes behind Graham, with 31, followed by Jimmy Carter (28), Pope John Paul II (27) and Bill Clinton, whose appearance this year is his 26th. Clinton did not finish among the top 10 in 2017 but did so every year between 1992 and 2016.