First Lady Melania Trump placed second-to-last in a new survey measuring the popularity of recent first ladies, while Hillary Clinton ranked at the very bottom, according to a YouGov poll released this week.
The survey asked 2,255 Americans earlier this month to evaluate the 11 most recent first ladies on a scale from “outstanding” to “poor.” The results show significant differences in how the public views the current first lady.
Thirty-six percent of participants rated Melania Trump as “poor,” and another 10 percent marked her as “below average.” On the positive side, roughly 18 percent described her as “outstanding,” while 12 percent called her “above average.” Altogether, she received a net approval rating of negative 16 points.
Hillary Clinton performed even worse. About 33 percent judged her as “poor,” and 11 percent as “below average,” leading to a net score of negative 17 points. Clinton, who ran against Donald Trump in the contentious 2016 election, remains a polarizing figure.
Conversely, Jacqueline Kennedy topped the list as the most admired first lady, earning a net positive rating of 56 points. Rosalynn Carter came next with 32 points, followed by Nancy Reagan with 25.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama also fared well, with 51 percent of respondents rating her as “outstanding” or “above average,” the second-best combined score of the 11 women evaluated. Her net rating was positive 21 points, though 22 percent rated her “poor.”
The poll also noted a clear pattern regarding public attitudes toward first ladies and their spouses. “Opinion of first ladies generally is politically polarized in a similar way to opinion of their husbands,” YouGov noted in its report.
President Donald Trump received the highest share of “poor” ratings among the 20 presidents assessed—48 percent rated his presidency “poor,” and an additional 6 percent rated him “below average.” Despite this, his net score of negative 20 points ranked as the second worst, behind Biden.
Former President Joe Biden ranked as the least popular president, with 38 percent saying he was “poor” and 12 percent rating him “below average.” His net score came to negative 27 points. Only 7 percent called him “outstanding.” This placed Biden at the bottom by net rating—five points lower than Trump—despite Trump receiving a higher proportion of “poor” ratings overall.
Former President Richard Nixon was the third most negatively viewed, with 27 percent calling him “poor” and 21 percent labeling him “below average.”
The presidents with the strongest evaluations were Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and George Washington. Seventy-four percent considered Lincoln “outstanding” or “above average,” while 66 percent said the same for Kennedy and 65 percent for Washington. Kennedy earned a net rating of positive 61 points, close to Jacqueline Kennedy’s positive 56.
This pattern extended to several presidential couples. Ronald and Nancy Reagan received nearly identical ratings, at positive 22 and positive 25. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama received positive 15 and positive 21, respectively.
Hillary Clinton was the only first lady whose rating was notably worse than that of her husband. Former President Bill Clinton held a net rating of negative 3 points—still unfavorable but considerably better than Hillary’s negative 17.
The poll’s release coincides with renewed attention on the current first lady following the premiere of “Melania,” a 104-minute documentary that has sparked substantial discussion. The film earned $7 million in its opening weekend, then fell 67 percent to $2.37 million in its second weekend. After two weeks, it had made $13.35 million domestically—a respectable figure for a documentary but far below the $75 million Amazon spent to acquire and promote it. Amazon paid $40 million for the rights and another $35 million for marketing, which The Hollywood Reporter called “the most expensive” documentary deal ever.
Additional Economist/YouGov surveys from January and February 2026 found both Melania and Donald Trump receiving 41 percent favorable ratings, indicating that their public images remain closely linked.
In a comparable YouGov poll conducted in 2023, Melania Trump performed slightly better. At that time, 39 percent rated her as “poor” or “below average,” compared with 37 percent who rated Hillary Clinton similarly.
The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, provides insight into how partisan divides continue to influence Americans’ views of first ladies and presidents during a period of heightened political polarization.