Melania Trump Is One Of America’s ‘Most Admired’ Women, According To New Poll

Melania Trump is one of America’s “Most Admired” women, according to the results of a new Gallup poll made available by AOL News. However, she didn’t take the top spot, an honor which went to former first lady Michelle Obama.

For decades, Gallup has been polling Americans about their most-admired man and most-admired woman from the previous year. And prior to 2018, the winner for the previous 17 years has been Hillary Clinton. This year, however, Clinton was topped in the number one spot by another first lady: Michelle Obama, with 15 percent of the vote. No other woman broke the double digits.

In second place, with 5 percent of the vote, was Oprah Winfrey, and then a two-way tie for third place, with former first lady Hillary Clinton and current first lady Melania Trump each getting 4 percent of the vote.

Two non-American women, England’s Queen Elizabeth II and Germany’s Angela Merkel, each got 2 percent, as did Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and TV host Ellen DeGeneres. Rounding out the top 11, with 1 percent of the vote each, were Nikki Haley, Malala Yousafzai, and Nancy Pelosi.

Partisan Differences

Considering that many of the women who made the list are connected in one way or another to politics, it should come as no surprise that Republicans, Independents, and Democrats all generally answered differently as to who is their most-admired woman.

Opinion: "Melania Trump, first lady and role model, rises above Democratic pettiness," writes Tammy Bruce.https://t.co/PErMys0ZFw

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 28, 2018

For example, for Republicans, the winner of the Most-Admired Woman is, by a long shot, Melania, with 9 percent of the vote. Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey each managed to get 5 percent of the Republican vote, while Hillary Clinton failed to get even 1 percent.

Independents, on the other hand, favored Michelle Obama (12 percent), followed by Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton (3 percent each) and Melania (2 percent).

And among Democrats, the clear winner was Michelle Obama (28 percent), followed by Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton (7 percent each), and then Melania (1 percent).

Looking To History

Gallup has been asking this question of Americans since 1946. As such, the poll favors women who have had long careers spanning decades. Queen Elizabeth, for example, has made the top 10 for a record 50 years – almost as long as her reign as monarch, now in its 66th year. Similarly, Hillary Clinton has made the list for the past 27 years, and Oprah Winfrey for the past 31. In both cases, the women’s appearances on the list generally coincide with their lengthy careers.