Britons would not be blamed for not paying attention to the elections after going to the polls earlier this year.
But a new poll shows that they are captivated by the battle to be president of the United States and have voted for who they think would do a good job in the White House… and it’s Hollywood star Tom Hanks!
With just 30 days left, starting this Sunday, before Americans go to the polls, a new YouGov poll for Betfair asked more than 2,000 Britons which famous celebrities they thought would make a good leader of the free world.
Oscar winner Hanks, famous for blockbuster films such as Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan and Philadelphia, won overwhelmingly with 36 percent of the vote, followed by fellow actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with 22 percent and Oprah Winfrey with 21 percent.
A third of Britons would choose Tom Hanks, pictured, as president of the United States.
Hanks is followed by fellow actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with 22 percent.
Controversial billionaire Elon Musk is in fourth place with 17 percent
Controversial billionaire Elon Musk came in fourth place with 17 percent, followed by pop superstar Taylor Swift, tennis queen Serena Williams and American royal Prince Harry, all with 16 percent.
The least popular choice among Britons was Kim Kardashian, voted for by only 4% of Britons.
The survey also found that 60 percent of Britons would choose Kamala Harris if they could vote in the US election. While one in five in the UK said they would vote for Trump, a figure that has almost doubled compared to four years ago, when Betfair carried out the same survey.
Those ages 18 to 24 are the most likely to back Trump if given a vote: 32 percent say they would vote for him, a figure that has nearly tripled since the last election (11 percent).
Betfair spokesman Sam Rosbottom said: “Several American celebrities have made a successful transition into politics. Trump himself presented The Apprentice on TV there, plus Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger were there. So we thought it would be fun to find out which stars the British think would do a good job in the White House.
‘It’s no surprise that an actor as beloved as Hanks, famous for playing likable but strong characters on screen, tops the poll.
‘Other popular figures like The Rock and Oprah are also endorsed as being a good leader of the free world.
‘It’s already taken over Twitter, could the White House be next? Almost one in five Britons believe that Elon Musk would make a good US president.
The Betfair poll found that the real presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has captured the imagination of the British people: 60 percent of all respondents said they are interested in the battle for the White House.
Betfair Exchange, the world’s leading peer-to-peer betting platform, has already recorded over £125 million in bets on US election markets with many more expected next month.
Four years ago, the Betfair Exchange Next President market broke records and became the world’s biggest betting event, with £1.7bn bet on Trump v Biden.