OPINION: Why are Obama & Trump tied as the Most Admired Man in 2019?

For the past 70 years, Gallup has surveyed Americans and asked them who they admire most. They are not limited to name someone living in the United States, a political figure, nor a celebrity. It’s an open ended question and respondents are not guided or pushed to say a specific name. In the past, names such as Dwight Eistenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon have won the title of Most Admired Man, while Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Hilary Clinton are some of the women who have won the title of Most Admired Woman. It’s not surprising that when a President’s name appears on the list, it is because he is in office at the time, that makes sense, but former President Barack Obama has maintained being America’s Most Admired Man past leaving the office in January of 2017.

Barack Obama, the 44th President and first African American President of the United States has been considered the Most Admired Man from 2008 and is still one of the top names for the 2019 polling… but the 2019 poll had a surprising twist: Donald Trump, the current President of the United States, has tied with Barack Obama for the 2019 title. 18% of respondents said that Obama was the man they admired the most, and another 18% said that Trump was the man they admired the most. Since leaving the office, Obama has seen a decline in the polling, but that’s not surprising, he isn’t in the public eye as much as he was while in office. What really surprises me is that Trump’s ratings are slowing increasing during his time in office. In 2017, his rating was 14%, then 13% in 2018, and now it’s at 18%. What is Donald Trump doing that is making him more admirable? I honestly don’t understand.

Let’s try to take out the fact that he has continuously said racist and sexist comments about underrepresented groups inside and outside of America (even though he will never be excused for that)... is he admirable because he’s allegedly a great businessman? He inherited $400 million from his father (which many people think was obtained through illegal measures, but we won’t talk about that), lost around $1.17 billion dollars within ten years (thanks to research done by an 18 month investigation of Trump’s finances), and has avoided paying taxes for several years. If that is what makes a businessman great, I want no parts. Should I also mention the fact that he bullies people who are inside and outside the political arena? I think I have solid reasoning for not understanding why President Trump is being considered the Most Admirable Man, even when taking Barack Obama out of the occasion. Trust me, I know that Obama is not perfect, I am sure that he has his faults… but I can name several reasons why I would consider him to be the Most Admired Man. Maybe next week I will write about why former President Barack Obama should be considered 2019’s Most Admired Man.

Click here to see the results for the Gallup’s 2019 Most Admired Man survey: https://news.gallup.com/poll/273125/obama-trump-tie-admired-man-2019.aspx