Melania Trump Is Much More Popular Than Jill Biden, Polling Shows

The divergent polling results between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are now spilling over into the approval ratings of their wives.

According to the American Tribune, as Biden’s numbers among the general public continue their downward trajectory, so do the numbers for First Lady Jill Biden. A poll by YouGov, conducted late last year, found 33% of Americans rated Jill Biden as “poor” or “below average” while just 25% saw her as “outstanding.” Another 28% described the first lady as “average.”

Those figures show Jill Biden’s numbers have tanked at roughly the same rate as those for her husband. At the start of President Biden’s term, Jill Biden was viewed positively by 46% of Americans and unfavorably by just 26%

The contrast with former first lady Melania Trump, meanwhile, could not be more stark. After entering the White House with just 36% approval, Melania’s fortune has improved considerably, rising to 52% approval just one month after President Trump’s inauguration. Two years in, approximately the same time Melania was attending the funeral for former First Lady Barbara Bush, her approval reached an all-time high of 57%. By the end of Trump’s term, her approval had settled at 46%, but still far higher than where Jill Biden’s rating sits today.

While it’s common for Americans’ approval of presidents to rise after they have left office, the trend has been more pronounced during an election season that pits a deeply unpopular incumbent against the rival he defeated just four years earlier. Malaise resulted from global unrest, persistent inflation, and a tepid jobs market have taken their toll on President Biden and provided the Trump campaign multiple opportunities to remind Americans of the record job growth, vibrant economy, and global peace under his Republican administration.

President Trump’s team has also dispatched Melania Trump as a surrogate along the trail, encouraging her to attend naturalization ceremonies for new Americans in a bid to highlight her own pursuit of citizenship while offsetting criticism of Trump’s immigration views. Melania has privately pitched President Trump on considering Tucker Carlson as a vice presidential pick while insisting her husband sit for breakfast each morning with her and their son Barron. Most recently, she was spotted stealing the show at a ceremony welcoming Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to a reception at Mar-a-Lago.

The former first lady was briefly sidelined at the start of the year following the death of her mother, who was praised at the time by President Trump as a “great and beautiful mother” to his wife.