First Lady Melania Trump's Public Approval Hits Record Low, CNN Data Analyst Reveals

Public opinion of first lady Melania Trump appears to have reached a record low, according to a March 20–30 CNN/SSRS survey.

A little over two months after the release of her documentary Melania: Twenty Days to History, the first lady is at an unprecedented low, according to Harry Enten, CNN's chief data analyst, who said her approval rating now stands at minus 12, the lowest for any modern first lady dating back to the Ronald Reagan administration.

According to the CNN/SSRS survey data presented by Enten, Melania Trump's approval rating has declined over time. During Donald Trump's first term, she held a +30 approval rating in May 2018. By January 2025, her numbers had dropped, though she remained slightly above water at plus three.

At comparable points in their husbands' second terms, Michelle Obama had a +42 rating, Laura Bush +46, Hillary Clinton +25, and Nancy Reagan +50.

"If we look at this historically, the worst ever, the worst ever at this point in term number two," Enten said.

One factor highlighted by Enten during the segment was her documentary, which many viewers saw as politically oriented. The Amazon MGM Studios film was shown in more than 1,500 theaters across North America when it debuted in February.

The studio paid $40 million to acquire the project and spent an additional $35 million on marketing. Despite that investment, Enten said the documentary has generated about $17 million at the box office, according to estimates, despite a strong opening weekend.

As noted by NBC News, Melania: Twenty Days to History brought in an estimated $7 million during its opening weekend, the strongest debut for a non-music documentary in more than a decade.

The documentary follows Melania Trump in the days leading up to her husband's second inauguration. According to The New York Times, Amazon paid about $26 million more than the next closest bidder for the rights and allocated a marketing budget roughly 10 times larger than that of some other high-profile documentaries.

The first lady's approval ratings mirror those of her husband, whose numbers have also fallen in recent weeks amid the war in Iran and concerns about the economy.

A similar CNN/SSRS poll conducted last week found that approval of Trump's handling of the economy is at its lowest level across both of his terms, with just 31 percent approving.

Another recent survey conducted by Harvard CAPS/Harris found that 53 percent of respondents say the economy is worse now than it was during the administration of former President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, 47 percent said they believe conditions have improved.

Separate polling from Reuters and Ipsos paints an even more concerning picture for the administration. In that survey, just 29 percent of Americans approved of Trump's economic performance, the lowest rating recorded across either of his presidential terms.