Melania Trump’s Approval Rating Hits Record Low By a Wide Margin Compared to Other First Ladies

Melania Trump’s approval rating has fallen to record lows for any first lady during their husband’s presidency.

CNN’s Harry Enten broke down Melania’s numbers on Thursday, April 9, revealing them to be unprecedentedly low with -12 overall in the latest March 26 to 30 CNN/SSRS survey.

Melania’s approval rating in May of 2018 stood at +30 and fell dramatically to +3 in January of 2025. Now, -12 puts her miles below other first ladies.

For reference, Nancy Reagan stood at +50, Hillary Clinton at +25, Laura Bush at +46, and Michelle Obama at +42 at this point in their respective husbands’ second term in office.

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

He also noted that Melania falls well below former First Lady Jill Biden, although her husband, President Joe Biden, only served one term, so it’s not a one-to-one comparison the way it is with other first ladies. Speculating on why the current first lady has such a low standing with the public, Enten simply said: “I would say that the American people really don’t care for her.”

He even cited her poor choice of a designer jacket when visiting a migrant detention facility in her husband’s first term, which read: “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?”

The low approval numbers were reported before Melania made a public statement from the White House, distancing herself from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while calling on Congress to hear public testimony from the victims.

CNN reported on April 9 that there was a debate among White House staff about whether or not the statement would truly distance her from the Epstein scandal or merely bring it back into the public eye.