How popular is Melania Trump, compared to other recent first ladies?
Not very, according to a new poll.
YouGov recently published a survey of how Americans view all the first ladies since Jacqueline Kennedy. Jackie O is indeed the most popular, and Melania is the second-least popular, behind only Hillary Clinton. And Hillary is known as much, if not more, as a senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate than she is as a first lady.
Interesting points of bipartisan agreement that jumped out at me in this poll:
• GOP and Dems now agree that Obama and Carter (!) were both better Presidents than Biden
• GOP and Dems now both rank George H.W. Bush ahead of Dubyahttps://t.co/Wbe7knP64o pic.twitter.com/6UJp5OohbF— Andrew Pardue (@ABPardue) February 16, 2026
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“Net ratings of first ladies tell a slightly different story, though Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (+56) remains by far the favorite. The first ladies with the next highest net ratings are Rosalynn Carter (+32), Nancy Reagan (+25), Lady Bird Johnson (+23), Barbara Bush (+21), Michelle Obama (+21), and Laura Bush (+19). Hillary Clinton (-17), Melania Trump (-16), and Jill Biden (-9) receive net negative ratings,” YouGov said.
The survey also found that, with the exception of the Clintons, all of the recent first ladies are more popular than their husbands.
“The largest gaps are between Laura and George W. Bush (+19 vs. -22), Pat and Richard Nixon (+5 vs. -35), Barbara and George H. W. Bush (+21 vs. -12), Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter (+32 vs. +6), and Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson (+23 vs. -1). Hillary Clinton is the only first lady with a significantly lower net rating than her husband (-17 vs. -3 for Bill Clinton),” the YouGov poll said.
Melania, the Movie, and Amazon’s $60 Million Shortfall
Jeff Bezos, Melania, and the Quid Pro Quo Question Some Critics Are Raising
Amazon spent $75 million on Melania. The film may finish under $20 million at the box office, with theaters keeping roughly half. By Hollywood… pic.twitter.com/mzwv0onqP1
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) February 16, 2026
The rating comes in as the current First Lady’s documentary, Melania, has slid down the box office charts.
Per The Daily Beast, the film suffered a 62.3-percent drop in the box office this weekend, its third in theaters.
“This puts the project on pace to gross $15.4 million in total, nowhere near the $40 million that Jeff Bezos’ Amazon spent to acquire it and an additional $35 million to promote it,” the Beast said.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
