Why is Donald Trump talking about Sydney Sweeney?

It’s not every day a jeans advert becomes the centre of a cultural firestorm – and even rarer that it catches the attention of the President of the United States. But in 2025, a pun-laced campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has done just that. What began as a quirky denim ad has exploded into a national conversation involving beauty standards, political identity, and the ever-blurring line between celebrity and ideology.

The Ad That Sparked It All

At the heart of the storm is a campaign by American Eagle, starring Euphoria and The White Lotus actress Sydney Sweeney. The tagline? “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” – a playful pun amplified by a video where she says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring… My jeans are blue.”

On the surface, it’s a harmless play on words. But critics quickly seized on the messaging, accusing the advert of flirting with themes uncomfortably close to eugenics and outdated Western beauty ideals – particularly given Sweeney’s blonde hair and blue eyes. Some went as far as to draw comparisons with far-right rhetoric, igniting a fierce backlash on social media.

Others, however, called the outrage disproportionate. For them, it was nothing more than clever marketing, and a case of the internet finding offence where there was none.

Trump Enters the Chat

Enter Donald Trump.

As news broke that Sweeney is registered as a Republican voter in Florida – a detail unearthed shortly after the backlash began – the sitting President couldn’t resist jumping into the fray. Taking to Truth Social, he wrote:

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ’em Sydney!”

Trump, never one to shy away from culture war fodder, used the moment to rail against “woke” advertising, comparing Sweeney’s ad favourably to others he described as overly politically correct. His public support sent American Eagle’s stock soaring – up by more than 20% in a matter of hours.

He didn’t stop there. When informed of her party affiliation by a reporter, Trump responded:

“Ooh, now I love her ad.”

This wasn’t simply an off-the-cuff remark. Trump reposted his message multiple times, correcting typos and refining the tone. For a moment, Sydney Sweeney’s jeans became a political battleground – and a new weapon in the culture wars.

The Politics of Denim

The debate has opened up broader questions about celebrity, branding, and voter identity. Sweeney herself has not commented on her political registration or the backlash. In the past, she’s responded to controversy with caution – notably when photos from her mother’s birthday party showed guests in MAGA hats. At the time, she urged people to “stop making assumptions”.

But the revelation of her Republican registration, while legally trivial, has proven culturally significant. For some, it shifted the narrative around the ad from tone-deaf to defiant. For others, it reinforced their criticism.

Meanwhile, American Eagle has stood firm. The company insists the campaign was always “about the jeans”, reiterating:

“Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way.”

More Than Just Marketing?

Whatever your view, the campaign has done what every brand hopes for in 2025: it’s gone viral. Marketing analysts have praised American Eagle for crafting a message that sparked genuine conversation, no matter how divisive. Allen Adamson of consultancy Metaforce said the social media exposure is worth many times what the campaign likely cost.

It’s a sharp contrast to past campaigns – like Bud Light’s ill-fated partnership with Dylan Mulvaney – that faced economic fallout after political blowback. In Sweeney’s case, the controversy seems to have bolstered her brand, not broken it.