Morgan Freeman tops Comedy Central poll seeking next celebrity president

A new poll released Wednesday by Comedy Central and YouGov shows Morgan Freeman as the most popular choice to be the next celebrity president.

“In 2016, the United States elected its first purely celebrity president. In hindsight, maybe not the best idea,” reads a Comedy Central press release, referring to President Trump and his role on NBC’s “The Apprentice.” 

“But since we now know that it doesn’t take anything more than being famous to become president, which politically active celebrity would Americans be most likely to vote for in 2020? Can we do a better job this time? Could we possibly do worse?”

The survey conducted from Aug. 7 to 11 assigned 2,586 people 30 different celebrities in 15 head-to-head match-ups.

Freeman, who played a U.S. president in the 1998 movie “Deep Impact” and again in 2019’s “Angel Has Fallen,” was the most popular choice, with 81 percent of the vote, while Denzel Washington came in second, with 76 percent. 

Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson round out the top five. 

Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford and Matt Damon tie for sixth, with 70 percent of the vote in head-to-head match-ups, while Judge Judy Sheindlin and Leonardo DiCaprio came in ninth and 10th, respectively. 

Of the top 10, only Freeman and Ford have played American presidents, with Ford’s role coming in the 1997 hit “Air Force One.”