Story highlights
Melania Trump's favorability is up in a new Gallup poll
54% of the poll's respondents have a favorable view of the first lady
First lady Melania Trump’s popularity continues to climb, according to a new poll out Friday.
The first lady’s favorability rating now stands at 54%, up from 37% favorable in January 2017, per a Gallup poll conducted last week. Her unfavorable rating is down slightly from 37% to 33%, with 13% having no opinion.
Her husband, President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has an unfavorable rating at 56%, with just 41% having a favorable opinion.
“They love her out there … they’re loving Melania,” Trump said at a private dinner for the White House Historical Association in October, calling his wife the “star of the Trump family.”
Nearly a year into her husband’s time in office, the first lady has embraced her role, and though she has maintained an air of mystery through her desire for privacy, she has raised her national profile, moving into the White House with son, Barron, in June and accompanying the President on a series of high-profile trips, both domestic and abroad.
In Washington, she has played the time-honored role of White House hostess, but has also unveiled a platform focused on compassion and issues facing children.
Her solo trips this fall have also helped Americans get to know their private first lady: she spoke about challenges facing children at a UN luncheon in New York, traveled to Canada to attend the Invictus Games with Prince Harry in September, made an unannounced visit to a suburban Detroit middle school to kick off the “Week of Inclusion” in October, and last week, toured storm recovery and relief efforts in Texas.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,049 adults between December 4-11 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4%.
