Donald Trump had barely a word to spare for his wife’s documentary, even as he pushed people to go see it.
Melania Trump, 55, held a screening of Amazon’s $75 million documentary, Melania, for family and assorted VIP’s at the White House on Saturday evening. The screening was reportedly the debut viewing of the film in full for the president, 79, who promoted it on social media on Monday.
“MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH. Get your tickets today — Selling out, FAST!” Trump wrote about the documentary, which chronicles the 20 days leading up to his 2025 inauguration through the eyes of the first lady.
Though the Trumps are not known for being particularly affectionate in public, the curt post is notable because the president often promotes the books he likes in paragraphs running hundreds of words.
Trump, who included an Amazon link to purchase tickets in his post, had a little more to say on the film while speaking to reporters earlier this month.
“I’ve seen pieces of it,” he said. “It’s incredible. I tell you, I think it’s going to do very [well]. She did a book and the book was a big No. 1 bestseller and this is a movie and, uh, it seems to be captivating a lot of people’s attention. It’s, uh, very good.”
But Melania is widely expected to bomb at the box office. The vanity project, for which Jeff Bezos’ Amazon reportedly paid $40 million, is projected to make a measly $5 million on the weekend following its official release on Friday.
Trump previously tried to hype up the film in an X post on Friday that made no mention of Melania, who lives at Mar-a-Lago in Florida rather than with Trump at the White House.
“COUNTDOWN: 7 Days until the World will witness an unforgettable, behind-the-scenes, look at one of the most important events of our time,” he wrote.
The film, which will premiere at the Kennedy Center on Thursday evening, was directed by Brett Ratner, who faced sexual misconduct allegations in 2017 and has appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Saturday’s screening at the White House was attended by guests including Queen Rania of Jordan, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, former boxer Mike Tyson, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Erika Kirk.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
