Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump and former First Lady Michelle Obama have been rated as the most admired personalities in 2020, a recent poll by Gallup, Inc. found.

The American analytics think-thank said Tuesday that the U.S. leader was rated above former President Barack Obama and President-elect Joe Biden, who came in second and third places respectively, despite enduring a turbulent year in the twilight of his widely criticised administration.

President Trump, who was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2019 for “abuse of power and obstruction of Congress,” was however, acquitted early 2020 by the Senate after a brief impeachment trial.

The Trump administration subsequently came under severe censuring from citizens for its presumed lack of tact in handling the rampaging coronavirus, as well as racial tensions in the troubled nation.

Mr. Trump’s surprise emergence as most admired man of 2020 — despite losing his bid for reelection — could be partly attributed to his “enduring popularity among Republicans,” Gallup said.

His counterpart Michelle Obama amassed the highest poll ratings to emerge as the most admired woman for the third straight year.

Mrs. Obama, a U.S. attorney who served as First Lady between 2009 and 2017 outshined Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and current first lady Melania Trump in the polls after garnering the most votes.

Gallup noted that the poll was conducted via telephone between December 1 and 17 among a random sample of 1,018 adults.