Melania Trump rings the NYSE opening bell, placing her documentary promotion at the center of the business world

By Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — First lady Melania Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning, giving her a high-profile platform in the business world as she seeks to build momentum toward the release of her documentary later this week.

The first lady stood on the iconic marble stage, with her name emblazoned in the film’s signage behind her. She was joined by NYSE President Lynn Martin and Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, who clapped as the bell rang moments before 9:30 am ET. Trump joined them in clapping as the ringing concluded, then high-fived Sprecher.

The trio turned around to admire the documentary logo, designed by the first lady in black and white, and then posed for a selfie. No one from the first lady’s office, the film’s crew or Amazon MGM Studios joined her on the platform, leaving the first lady alone with the NYSE executives as she celebrated the professional milestone.

Prior to the bell-ringing, Trump was gifted a commemorative NYSE medallion by Martin, who also attended a private screening of the film in the White House’s East Room on Saturday evening. The event came as the White House was dealing with significant fallout from federal agents shooting Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier that day. Other business titans were present for the screening, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, AMD’s Lisa Su and Zoom’s Eric Yuan.

Trump has pointed to the film — which documents the 20 days around her return to the White House — as a driver of job growth. She described it as an “impactful, bicoastal collaboration driving job growth and impact far beyond the screen” during a November award ceremony on Fox Nation.

But the documentary also poses a high-stakes test for Amazon MGM Studios, which has made a massive investment in the film with a roughly $40 million deal with Trump and her team, plus a $35 million marketing budget: Will Trump’s fans flock to movie theaters, which have suffered significant declines in attendance in recent years, to see the film?

“Melania” premieres on Thursday at the Kennedy Center, with a theatrical release Friday. A streaming date has not yet been announced.

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