President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter on Thursday, January 29, 2026, when questioned about the $75 million price tag for a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump at the film’s premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
New York Times White House correspondent Shawn McCreesh confronted Trump on the red carpet about the film’s total cost, which includes a $40 million production budget and $35 million in promotion expenses. McCreesh suggested the payment from Amazon MGM Studios could represent corporate corruption, asking whether Jeff Bezos was “trying to get in good” with the president.
Trump asked the reporter who they work for, before McCreesh identified himself as a New York Times reporter.
Trump called the New York Times fake news and dismissed the question. He said he was not involved in the film deal, stating it was done with his wife. Trump said the movie shows life in the White House and that Melania produced the film.
Several minutes later, another reporter pressed the president about criticism over Amazon’s payment to acquire the movie rights. The 79-year-old president criticized Obama for being paid a lot of money.
The premiere occurred at the venue, which Trump has renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center. The documentary was also screened at the White House ahead of its theatrical release.
The film, which runs 1 hour and 48 minutes, opens today in approximately 1,500 theaters across the United States and Canada. Early projections suggest the documentary will face significant box office challenges, with expectations of just $5 million in opening weekend revenue.
The 55-year-old first lady described the documentary during red carpet interviews as beautiful, emotional, fashionable, and cinematic. When asked to describe the film in three words, Melania Trump said people will judge for themselves before offering the longer description. She said the film follows 20 days before inauguration and announced that a spinoff docuseries is coming in a few months.
The documentary was directed by Brett Ratner, the filmmaker known for action comedies but who faced sexual abuse allegations dating back to 2017. Amazon MGM Studios financed the project through a deal with Bezos’s company, though Trump maintained he had no involvement in negotiating or approving the arrangement.
The premiere drew a crowd of Trump administration officials and supporters, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, rapper Nicki Minaj, Donald Trump Jr., and his fiancée Bettina Anderson. The president and first lady walked the black carpet together, posing for photographs and fielding questions from assembled media.
Trump wore makeup on his bruised hand during the event. At one point during the premiere, he praised Slovenia without specifically naming the country.
The film has been review-bombed on Letterboxd. Social media users have posted images showing near-empty theater screenings.
The theatrical release on Friday, January 30, 2026, will test whether audiences have interest in an intimate portrait of the first lady during the transition period between Trump’s election victory and his second inauguration.
