How often does this happen?

Gallup has announced that President Trump and former President Obama have tied for first place in their most admired man of the year poll. Gallup is quick to point out that this is the twelfth time Obama has won this award and only the first time for President Trump.

I am frankly pleasantly surprised that so many Americans confess to admiring Trump. After listening to Democrats and the media tell us how offensive he is for so long, it’s nice to know such a large number of people regard Trump so highly.

It bodes well for his re-election chances next year. There’s always been such a thing as “silent voters” when it comes to Trump, who cast their ballots for him, but won’t admit their choice in public. This was why his victory came as such a surprise in 2016.

The fact that people have voted Trump the most admired man for the first time means either people are no longer afraid to acknowledge their support, his popularity has increased or both. Either way, we’ll take it.

According to Gallup, the incumbent president usually wins the top spot. This has been the case in 58 of the prior 72 polls. Gallup began conducting this poll in 1948.

Participants are asked to “name, in an open-ended fashion, which man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most. This year’s results are based on a Dec. 2-15 poll.

Gallup reports that the vote for the most admired man this year was:

Sharply divided along party lines: 41% of Democrats named Obama, while 45% of Republicans chose Trump. Relatively few Democrats chose Trump and relatively few Republicans picked Obama, while independents’ choices are divided about equally between the two men.

After Obama and Trump, no other man was mentioned by more than 2% of respondents. The remainder of the top 10 for men this year includes former President Jimmy Carter, businessman Elon Musk, philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Dalai Lama, and investor Warren Buffett.

Eleven percent of Americans named a relative or friend as the man they admire most; 18% named some other living man; and 25% did not name anyone.

Obama and Trump each received 18% this year.

The percentage of Americans voting for Trump as the most admired man correlates to Gallup’s approval ratings. In 2017, 14% admired him most and in 2018, 13%. Gallup’s approval rating for Trump, at the same period in December 2017 was 36% in 2017 and 40% in 2018. His Gallup approval rating is currently at 45%, a healthy increase over prior years, which corresponds to the increase in this newly released poll.

As for Obama, in 2017, 17% considered him the most admired man and in 2018, 19%.

Gallup points out that no other man received mention “by more than 2% of respondents. The remainder of the top 10 for men this year includes former President Jimmy Carter, businessman Elon Musk, philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Dalai Lama, and investor Warren Buffett.”

Note: I don’t see former Vice President Joe Biden’s name on the list.

For the second year in a row, Michelle Obama was the most admired woman.

Here is the link for complete results of this poll.