Melania Trump’s time as First Lady of the United States has been, much like her husband Donald Trump’s political career, marked by ups and downs. Although she has made public appearances, she has largely kept a low profile. Now, a new poll reveals how Americans truly rate her performance as First Lady compared with others who have held the role.
Before she and Donald Trump returned to the White House in January of last year, Melania said her second stint in Washington would look different. The Slovenian-born former model explained that she planned to split her time between Washington, Palm Beach, and New York City while continuing to fulfill her responsibilities.
While she has carried on with her Be Best initiative, much of her second term has centered around a documentary project. She announced the film shortly before her husband’s second inauguration.
Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the rights to the documentary, which debuted in January. The film has drawn mixed reviews, though Melania herself has expressed strong satisfaction with the final result.
“I’m very proud of the film so people may like it, may don’t like it, and that’s their choice,” she told CNN shortly before the release of the documentary. “We achieved what we want to achieve. For myself, it’s already successful. I’m very proud of what we did.”
New poll reveals what Americans think of Melania Trump as first lady
While Donald Trump has struggled in the polls heading into the midterms, many might wonder how Americans view Melania Trump. A recent YouGov poll might give a hint.
It reads that the poll “was conducted online among 2,255 adult citizens on two separate 2026 surveys from February 2 – 5 and February 3-5.”
YouGov explained, “A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status.”
So what did the poll say? Well, it turns out that Melania has a -16 approval rating, which is lower than the previous first lady, Jill Biden (-9). Still, Melania has a higher approval rating than Hilary Clinton, who polled at -17.
Other First Lady’s has considerably higher approval ratings. Nancy Reagan stands at +25, Lady Bird Johnson at +23, Rosalynn Carter at +32, and Barbara Bush at +21. Michelle Obama got +21, and Laura Bush got +19.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis most popular
However, the one who did best by far is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the First Lady and the wife of President John F. Kennedy. She was the first lady from 1961 to 1963 and had an approval rating of +56, according to a YouGov survey.
Melania’s approval rating was higher among Republican voters than among Democrats.
What do you think of Melania Trump as First Lady of the United States of America? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
