President Donald Trump and his wife Melania enter 2026 with remarkably similar top-line favorability numbers, according to national polling data, though the factors shaping their public images differ in notable ways.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Twin snapshots from two separate Economist/YouGov polls provide a side-by-side look at public sentiment toward the first lady and president during the rollout of a high-profile Melania Trump documentary that drew better-than-expected box office as well as polarized reviews.
What To Know
Melania and Donald Trump each registered 41 percent favorable ratings in separate Economist/YouGov polls released in January and February 2026, though their unfavorable numbers diverged sharply.
In the Economist/YouGov survey conducted January 30 to February 2, 2026, among 1,672 U.S. adult citizens, 41 percent held a favorable view of the first lady, and 47 percent held an unfavorable view, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent.
In a separate Economist/YouGov survey fielded January 16 to 19, 2026, among 1,722 U.S. adult citizens, the president registered 41 percent favorable and 56 percent unfavorable, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent. The January 30-February 2 poll did not have favorability ratings for the president.
His rating also predates some of the political turbulence that would follow, including the fallout from the Alex Pretti shooting in Minnesota, which subsequent polling suggests may further harden views among voters.
But even without those later developments, the January data underscores the asymmetry: while his base remains durable, his unfavorability remains substantially higher than his wife’s.
The first lady’s reappearance in the public eye—anchored by the rollout of her new documentary—has generated significant discussion about how the media treats her.
A separate InsiderAdvantage national survey found that 59 percent of Americans agree that the media and fashion press have treated Melania Trump more harshly or dismissively than recent first ladies such as Jill Biden or Michelle Obama.
Those attitudes may help explain why her favorability remains steadier than the often polarized commentary surrounding her suggests.
InsiderAdvantage’s poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters and carried a margin of error of 3.09 percentage points.
Melania: 20 Days to History opened in U.S. theaters on January 30 and earned about $7 million in its opening weekend, outpacing projections while drawing a 5 percent Tomatometer from critics and a 99 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.
On the popular review aggregator website, the “Tomatometer” reflects the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive, while the “Popcorn Meter” (audience score) shows how positively general moviegoers rated a film.
Amazon MGM Studios acquired worldwide licensing rights for $40 million and spent an additional $35 million on marketing, making it one of the most expensive nonfiction releases.
What People Are Saying
Owen Gleiberman, chief film critic at Variety, wrote that Melania is “a cheeseball infomercial of staggering inertia,” arguing it looks like “innocuous outtakes from a reality show.”
Amazon, responding to questions about its promotion of the movie, said: “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it.”
William Thomas at Empire labeled the film “cynical, pointless, and very, very boring,” adding: “You will leave this film arguably knowing less about Melania than when you come in.”
InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery said: “As to the first lady, who has been the subject of much press with the rollout of her documentary/movie, these numbers reflect the same response our prior survey received on this topic.
“Men agreed that Mrs, Trump has been treated differently than other recent first ladies and in a biased manner.
“Men agreed over thirty points and women agreed with the statement by over twenty points. Interestingly while Democrats disagreed with the statement, African Americans, considered essential to the Democratic base agreed by nearly sixty-percent.”
White House spokesperson Kush Desai previously told Newsweek via email: “President Trump campaigned on fixing Joe Biden’s economic disaster and border crisis. By every metric, he is delivering—inflation has cooled, GDP growth is accelerating, and the border is sealed.
“Instead of covering how far America has come in just one year, the media has fixated on one contrived scandal after another. President Trump is most in his element when he’s with the everyday Americans who propelled him to office, and the President will continue delivering results and cutting out the Fake News middleman to tout what he has and continues to do for the American people.”
What Happens Next
Pollsters and campaigns will watch whether extended theatrical and streaming runs for Melania: 20 Days to History, along with continued media debate over coverage of the first lady, will shift favorability for either Melania Trump or Donald Trump in subsequent surveys.
