Donald Trump voted the United States' most-admired man

Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
Donald Trump and Barack Obama. Photo credit: Getty

US President Donald Trump has for the first time topped a list of Americans' most-admired man.

But don't be surprised he hasn't been tweeting about it - that would mean admitting he's sharing the honour with his predecessor Barack Obama. 

The annual poll, conducted by Gallup, asks Americans who their most admired men and women are - they can name anyone they like, and aren't prompted with a list of nominees. 

Obama and Trump both got 18 percent of the votes for most-admired man, well ahead of the rest, none of whom got more than 2 percent. Among the runners-up were former President Jimmy Carter, Tesla boss Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Democrat presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the Dalai Lama and investor Warren Buffett.

Eleven percent of respondents named a relative or friend.

Gallup said Trump's rise in the rankings is a result of his growing popularity with Americans, despite becoming just the third US President to be impeached earlier this month.

"Trump is more popular now than he was in the past two years, with a 45 percent job approval rating, among his best as President," said spokesperson Jeffrey Jones. 

"Coincident with the rise in his job approval rating, the 18 percent of Americans currently naming Trump as the most admired man is also up, from 13 percent in 2018 and 14 percent in 2017... The results reflect the significant party divide in the US, with Republicans overwhelmingly naming Trump and Democrats Obama, and few other men garnering significant mention."

Obama has now topped the list 12 years in a row. His wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, was named the most-admired woman with 10 percent of the vote - ahead of second-placed Melania Trump, on 5 percent. She also won last year.

Queen Elizabeth II finished inside the top 10 for the 51st time. TV host Oprah Winfrey, former First Lady Hillary Clinton and teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg also finished in the top 10.

Clinton topped the poll every year from 2002 to 2017.