Soon after learning that actor Sydney Sweeney’s a registered Republican, US President Donald Trump was quick to call her latest viral denim ad “fantastic”, a campaign currently doing the rounds on social media.
“If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!” Trump said to a reporter on Monday.
His remarks came amid debate over Sweeney’s political affiliation and her latest American Eagle campaign, which leans into a pun on “genes” and “jeans.”
Republican registration revealed
Public records show that Sweeney registered to vote as a Republican in Florida on June 14, 2024, shortly after purchasing a mansion in the Florida Keys, as per The Guardian.
Her registration came about two weeks after Trump, also a registered Republican in Florida, was convicted in New York of falsifying business records. It also preceded his re-election to the presidency in November 2024.
Sweeney has not commented publicly on her voter registration.
Denim campaign
Sweeney has drawn both praise and criticism for her ongoing American Eagle campaign, which plays on the pun “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.”
In one video, she says:
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Story continues below this ad
While some have praised the campaign’s creativity and Sweeney’s performance, others have ridiculed it as a provocative fashion ad, especially at a time when Trump’s administration is actively pushing to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and tighten immigration enforcement.
Despite the controversy, American Eagle has defended the campaign, saying in a statement Friday: “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story.”
(With inputs from The Guardian)