What do a bombastic billionaire and God’s vessel on Earth have in common? The lukewarm adoration of America, that’s what.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump tied with Pope Francis as America’s second-most admired man, according to a Gallup survey released on Monday.
“Trump’s surprisingly strong and often controversial presidential campaign has made him a prominent news figure this year and, thus, top-of-mind for many Americans,” Gallup wrote in a blog post. “This helps explain his strong showing when Gallup asks Americans, in an open-ended fashion, to name the man they admire most.”
Gallup adds that Trump has made it into the annual survey’s top 10 “four other times, including from 1988 through 1990 and in 2011.”
So, that’s second place. The actual most admired man? President Barack Obama—by a long shot.
Obama earned 17 percent of respondents’ support, while Trump and Francis each clocked in at 5 percent. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic presidential hopeful, garnered 3 percent of the support, while Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates snagged 2 percent.
Presidents almost always win the “most admired man” poll, according to Gallup, though they usually only win while they hold office. Only former President Dwight D. Eisenhower has won more than eight times (he’s won 12 times), and Obama is the only other man to win eight times.
The real winner, however, may be Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state and Democratic presidential frontrunner earned 13 percent of support in the women’s category, besting activist Malala Youfsafzai (5 percent), Oprah Winfrey (4 percent), First Lady Michelle Obama (4 percent), and Republican presidential contender and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (3 percent).
Clinton has earned the top spot in this Gallup survey for the past 14 years and 20 times since 1993.
Gallup’s survey, conducted between Dec. 2-6, polled 824 adults across the U.S. on landlines and cellphones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Photos via Republic of Korea/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman
