Trump is the most admired man in 2020, beating Obama, who's held the top spot on the Gallup list for the past 12 years

• President Donald Trump is the most admired man in the country, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.

• Trump's top slot on the annual list overtakes former President Barack Obama, who's been No. 1 for the past 12 years.

• Trump joins the top rank alongside former first lady Michelle Obama, who was named most admired woman.

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For the first time, President Donald Trump alone is the most admired man of the year, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.

The annual survey broadly asked Americans to name any living man around the world they admire most, and 18% out of 1,018 respondents chose Trump, beating former President Barack Obama, who has topped the list for the past 12 years.

Obama was selected by 15% of respondents, followed by President-elect Joe Biden, named by 6% of respondents. Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci earned fourth place, mentioned by 3% of those polled.

Incumbent presidents have historically ranked first in the poll, though when they don't, it's typically because of national unpopularity, according to Gallup.

Trump's relatively low approval ratings as president over his four years in office may explain why he has never topped the list by himself. In both 2017 and 2018, Trump came in second to Obama. In 2019, Trump and Obama tied for the No 1. spot.

For 2020, Gallup noted that Trump, despite the general public still viewing him unfavorably, finally overtook his predecessor mainly because of GOP support. Roughly 48% of Republicans named Trump in the poll, whereas Democrats split up their choices between Obama, Biden, Fauci and other prominent public figures this year.

The poll suggests that although during his final year in office, Trump was impeached, oversaw a pandemic that has killed more than 335,000 people in the country and lost the 2020 presidential election, among several other issues, the president still retains influence and likeability within his party.

Trump joins the top rank alongside former first lady Michelle Obama, who was named the most admired woman for the third consecutive year.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris fell behind her in second place, and first lady Melania Trump came in third.

The poll was conducted to American adults from December 1 to 17 and has as a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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