extol (someone or something) as (something)
To highlight and praise the positive aspects of someone or something by depicting it or them as having a certain quality or fulfilling a certain role. After he made that sizable donation, we extolled him as the savior of the program.
extol someone or something as something
to praise someone or something as something. We extolled her as a heroine. The salesman extolled the medicine as a cure-all.