President Donald Trump praised actress Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle jeans advertisement on Sunday, August 3, after learning she is a registered Republican, calling the campaign “fantastic” and later describing it as the “HOTTEST” ad available.
Trump made his initial comments to reporters on Sunday while departing Allentown, Pennsylvania, after being informed about Sweeney’s political affiliation. The President expressed surprise at learning the 27-year-old actress was Republican, stating he wouldn’t have known her party registration previously.
On Monday morning, Trump doubled down on his support through a Truth Social post, declaring that Sweeney has the “HOTTEST” ad and that jeans are “flying off the shelves.” The president’s endorsement caused American Eagle stock to surge by approximately 17.67 percent.
Sweeney has been registered with the Republican Party of Florida since June 2024, according to public voter records reviewed by multiple news outlets. Her political affiliation was first reported on Saturday amid growing controversy surrounding her American Eagle campaign.
The advertisement features Sweeney discussing how genes are passed from parents to offspring, determining traits like hair color, personality and eye color, before concluding with “My jeans are blue.” The campaign uses the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” and plays on the similarity between “genes” and “jeans.”
Critics have condemned the advertisement, comparing it to Nazi propaganda and eugenics messaging. They argue that the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress discussing genetic traits while promoting “great genes” echoes discredited racial superiority theories once embraced by Adolf Hitler’s regime.
The backlash intensified on social media platforms, with viewers describing the campaign as racist and a “racialized dog whistle.” Some TikTok users characterized the advertisement as reminiscent of 1930s Germany, while others criticized what they perceived as the promotion of specific Western beauty standards.
American Eagle defended the campaign in a Friday statement, emphasizing that the advertisement focused solely on jeans. The company stated the campaign was about Sweeney’s jeans and her story, adding that great jeans look good on everyone. The brand indicated it would continue celebrating how customers wear their jeans with confidence.
Conservative figures rallied to Sweeney’s defense throughout the controversy. Senator Ted Cruz shared revealing images from the advertisement, writing that the “crazy Left has come out against beautiful women.” Vice President JD Vance described Sweeney as an “all-American beautiful girl” and criticized Democrats for their response to the campaign.
Vance suggested Democrats were calling anyone who found Sweeney attractive a Nazi, describing this as their actual strategy. He characterized the Democratic response as unhinged and questioned whether they learned anything from the November 2024 election results.
Trump’s Monday Truth Social post extended beyond Sweeney to attack what he termed “woke” companies. He criticized Jaguar’s recent advertising campaign as “stupid” and a “total disaster,” noting the company’s CEO resigned following backlash to their rebrand effort.
The president also referenced Bud Light’s 2023 controversy involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, suggesting other companies should learn from what he described as market cap destruction worth billions of dollars. He connected these examples to his broader criticism of “woke” marketing strategies.
Trump targeted Taylor Swift in the same post, claiming responsibility for her being “booed out of the Super Bowl” and becoming “no longer hot” after he expressed hatred for the pop star on Truth Social. He attributed Swift’s perceived decline in popularity to her political views and support for his 2024 opponent Kamala Harris.
The president concluded his social media commentary by declaring that being “woke is for losers, while being Republican represents what people want to be. His posts initially contained a spelling error, referring to the actress as “Sidney” before corrections were made.
Fox News devoted significant coverage to the Sweeney controversy, spending over 85 minutes across at least 20 segments discussing the commercial and surrounding discourse, according to Media Matters for America. This coverage exceeded the network’s attention to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal during the same period.
Sweeney has not publicly responded to either the advertisement backlash or Trump’s comments. She appeared at the “Americana” premiere Sunday evening and was spotted enjoying karaoke with “Euphoria” co-stars, appearing unbothered by the ongoing controversy.
