Washington, August 5, 2025 – President Donald Trump has publicly praised actress Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans advertisement, calling it “fantastic” after learning she is a registered Republican voter in Florida.
The endorsement, made on Sunday while speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania and later amplified on Truth Social, has reignited a heated online debate surrounding the ad’s messaging, which critics argue promotes problematic themes related to race and Western beauty standards.
The Controversial Campaign
The American Eagle campaign, titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” features the 27-year-old Euphoria and White Lotus star in a series of denim-focused ads. Launched on July 23, 2025, the campaign plays on the double meaning of “jeans” and “genes.” In one promotional video, Sweeney states, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.
My jeans are blue,” as the camera pans to her face, emphasizing her blonde hair and blue eyes. Another ad shows Sweeney crossing out the word “genes” on a billboard and replacing it with “jeans.”
The campaign’s wordplay quickly sparked backlash on social media, with some critics accusing it of echoing eugenics-era rhetoric, a discredited theory historically tied to racial superiority and selective breeding.
Posts on X labeled the ad as “tone-deaf” and compared it to Nazi propaganda, pointing to Sweeney’s “all-American” appearance as reinforcing traditional Western beauty standards, often associated with whiteness. Others defended the ad, calling it a lighthearted marketing tactic and dismissing the criticism as overblown.
American Eagle responded to the controversy on Instagram, stating, “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way.” The company emphasized that the campaign was not intended to carry racial or political undertones.
Trump’s Reaction and Political Context
The debate took a political turn when public voting records revealed Sweeney registered as a Republican in Florida on June 14, 2024. This revelation, first reported by Buzzfeed News, prompted Trump to weigh in. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Allentown, Pennsylvania, he said, “She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad! You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans.”
He later posted on Truth Social, “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves.’ Go get ‘em Sydney!”
Trump’s comments, which he reposted multiple times to correct typos, also contrasted Sweeney’s campaign with what he called “woke” advertisements from brands like Jaguar and Bud Light, claiming, “The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be.”
The endorsement led to a reported 20-23% surge in American Eagle’s stock price, highlighting the campaign’s commercial impact despite the controversy.
Sweeney has not publicly confirmed her political affiliation or commented on the backlash. In 2023, she faced similar scrutiny when images from her mother’s birthday party showed guests wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, prompting her to urge people to “stop making assumptions” about her beliefs.
Broader Cultural Debate
The controversy has fueled discussions about race, beauty standards, and political polarization in advertising. Critics argue the ad’s focus on “genes” and Sweeney’s stereotypical “all-American” look—blonde hair, blue eyes—unintentionally evokes eugenics themes, which historically promoted selective breeding for traits often associated with whiteness.
Some compared the campaign to a 1980s Calvin Klein ad featuring Brooke Shields, which similarly used genetic references and faced criticism for sexualization.
Supporters, including conservative figures like Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz, have dismissed the backlash as “cancel culture run amok.” Vance remarked on the Ruthless podcast, “My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi.” Even liberal commentators, like Stephen Colbert, have called the criticism an “overreaction.”
Marketing experts have mixed views. Allen Adamson of Metaforce praised American Eagle, stating, “Success in marketing today is to get consumers sharing [advertisements] on social,” while Marcus Collins from the University of Michigan suggested the controversy could have been avoided by featuring diverse models.
Impact and Ongoing Discussion
The ad’s viral nature has proven both a boon and a challenge for American Eagle. While it has driven significant attention and sales, the controversy underscores the challenges brands face in navigating cultural sensitivities. For Sweeney, the debate has thrust her into a political spotlight she has largely avoided, with her silence leaving room for speculation about her stance.
As the discussion continues, the American Eagle campaign highlights the intersection of pop culture, politics, and marketing in a deeply divided society. Whether the ad is seen as a clever pun or a misstep, it has undeniably sparked a broader conversation about beauty, identity, and the role of politics in everyday advertising.
Myself Aditya and I am from Mumbai, India. As an intern, I joined the local news agency in Mumbai named “The Mumbai News”. Now I am working with various News Agencies and I provide them reports from Mumbai and other parts of India.
