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Editorial

Melania Trump's popularity down!

It is not as if the US first lady has been all that important a factor. But Melania Trump has always been an enigma who has not been particularly unlikeable. Her relatively favourable rating has fallen by double-digits, according to a new poll. The first lady, whose favourability stood at 54 per cent, has slipped to 43 per cent in just two months. The 11-point drop-off is significant for Trump, who has for most of 2018 maintained positive polling numbers, staying in the high-40s to high-50s. However, unlike the numbers of her husband, who has steadily maintained a favourable rating of about 40 per cent, public opinion of the first lady has varied. Her popularity peaked in early May of this year at 57 per cent, following her first official State Dinner in late April. It was also on the heels of Trump's solo trip to Houston, Texas, to attend the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush, where she posed, smiling, for a photo with living former presidents and first ladies, many of whom have icy relationships with her husband. This most recent poll is still 13 points higher than the first lady's lowest polling numbers, which occurred in January 2017, days prior to her husband's inauguration; at that time, her favourability stood at 36 per cent. These new numbers reflect she maintains her strongest support from older, white, male Republicans and conservatives, while her biggest detractors are women, mainly younger and those who are college-educated. While the drop occurs across the board, it is bigger among the President's detractors. She is down six points among those who approve of the job her husband is doing as President, yet she's down 11 percentage points among those who disapprove. The biggest decrease for Melania Trump is among liberals and white college-graduates, down 17 percentage points each. In recent weeks, Melania Trump has been more visible, often appearing side-by-side with the President at events, as well as accompanying him during travel to Argentina for the G20 Summit. The first lady has also been more vocal about policy issues, making longer, more detailed speeches on the opioid epidemic. But she was also criticised after an interview when she said women who accuse men of sexual misconduct must have "hard evidence." She did say she supports women who say they have experienced sexual abuse. She also made headlines for claiming: "I could say that I'm the most bullied person in the world." Melania Trump weighed in on immigration during the interview, as well, saying she was "blindsided" by the administration policy separating children from their families at the border. The poll was conducted by SSRS, an independent research company. They seemed to feel, no doubt, that the US first lady is a factor to contend with.

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