Donald Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, has stirred up yet another controversy by plugging her recently released documentary during a politically sensitive press conference at the White House. As such, the former model has received significant criticism on the internet after seemingly promoting her movie in an extremely inappropriate context.
Melania Trump faces backlash for promoting her movie
On February 4, the current First Lady attended a news briefing at the White House, scheduled to commemorate the safe return of American-Israeli hostages Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva.
At one point during the event, Melania Trump narrated a recent interaction between her and Aviva and concluded by contentiously stating that their conversation appears in her documentary. “After Aviva was freed, she called me, wanted to see me, and we set up a meeting in New York. It was an emotional meeting, and it is captured on camera and available to see in my film, Melania,” she noted as she sat in between the Siegel couple in the White House’s Blue Room.
A reporter present at the venue then quickly countered Trump’s statement by questioning her if it was “appropriate to use an official White House event to promote” her documentary.
However, Trump responded by saying, “This is not a promotion. We are here celebrating the release of the hostages, of Aviva and Keith. They were in Washington, D.C., and they called me. They said they would like to come over to thank me and to give hugs, and that’s why we are here. It’s nothing to do with promotion.”
Released in theaters on January 30, 2026, the Melania Trump documentary encapsulates the First Lady’s journey in the 20 days before her husband’s 2025 presidential inauguration. While the film made a solid opening at the box office, it has garnered extremely poor reviews from critics, as evidenced by its 5% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes.
