Donald Trump has waded into the growing controversy surrounding actress Sydney Sweeney, launching a full-throated endorsement of her now-viral American Eagle ad campaign while simultaneously attacking Taylor Swift, Jaguar, and “woke” marketing.
During a press stop in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the president was informed by a reporter that Sweeney, best known for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus, is reportedly a registered Republican. Trump, surprised, offered a six-word reaction that quickly made headlines: “I’m glad you told me that.”
“Oh, now I love her ad," Trump continued, referring to Sweeney's divisive American Eagle campaign. "You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s one I wouldn’t have known but I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.”
It should be noted that, despite the circulating claims - and although public records suggest a Republican voter registration tied to a Florida address - there's no official confirmation that it belongs to actress Sydney Sweeney. While she owns a property in Summerland Key, which matches the state on the registration, none of the available reports definitively link the record to her. Additionally, Sweeney has not publicly confirmed or denied the claim. So while the data aligns in some ways, there's no clear evidence that the voter registration is hers.
Truth Social Tirade: "Go get 'em Sydney!"
Not long after, Trump took to Truth Social to elaborate.
“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!”
He then pivoted to attack rival campaigns he deemed failures, calling out Jaguar’s recent marketing push as “a total disaster,” referencing the departure of Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO Adrian Mardell.
“Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement… Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad?”
He continued: “Shouldn’t they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke and essentially destroyed… the Company… Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can’t stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT.”
Trump concluded his message with a sweeping declaration: “The tide has seriously turned — Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be.”
Online Reactions: Praise, Disgust, and Meme-Making
Trump’s comments about Sydney Sweeney and Taylor Swift have triggered a firestorm online, drawing a broad spectrum of reactions — from gleeful approval among his base to disgust and disbelief across wider social media.
On Truth Social, Trump received an outpouring of support from his fans, with one person commenting: "That’s a fire take and spot-on! [...] The cultural momentum is shifting fast being bold, unapologetic, and proudly Republican is the new cool."
However, over on X (formerly Twitter), many users blasted Trump for what they saw as inappropriate and sexist language, particularly in how he framed his support of Sweeney around her looks and political affiliation, and his needless jibe at Swift.
“Speaking down so confidently on beautiful women as if he isn’t the ugliest man in America is bold of him,” one user wrote. Another added: “I genuinely don’t understand how people are okay with any president speaking like this about women, about citizens of their own country. It’s beyond politics at this point. It’s embarrassing.”
Trump’s comments about Swift — calling her “NO LONGER HOT” and referencing past Super Bowl boos — also drew backlash. “Imagine being a sitting president publicly ranting about a pop star’s attractiveness because she told people to vote,” one post read. Others called it “obsessive,” with one commenter writing, “The man is still furious Taylor Swift didn’t endorse him. It’s giving high school crush rejection energy.”
Ad Backlash: American Eagle Faces Eugenics Claims
Sweeney has faced intense scrutiny for her American Eagle Fall 2025 campaign, which features her narrating a line that says:
“Genes are passed down from parent to offspring… My genes are blue.”
The ad ends with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” where genes is visibly crossed out and replaced with jeans. Critics accused the ad of tapping into eugenics-coded messaging, citing its focus on Sweeney’s blue eyes, blonde hair, and pale skin.
“This is just modern-day Nazi propaganda,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter).
“It’s a dog whistle to racists,” said another, adding that the campaign’s aesthetics confirmed a troubling idealization of whiteness.
One TikTok user warned: “When those traits are consistently uplifted as genetic excellence, we know where this leads.”
Pushback and Parody
Despite the backlash, others dismissed the outrage.
“It’s a denim campaign, not a manifesto,” one X user wrote. “Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi.”
Musicians like Lizzo and Doja Cat have weighed in with satirical takes. Lizzo posted a parody ad with the caption “My jeans are black…” while Doja Cat shared a TikTok mocking the ad’s tone with an exaggerated Southern accent.
Sweeney, for her part, has not commented publicly on the controversy or the rumors of her political affiliation.
Republican Figures Rally Behind Sweeney
Prominent GOP voices have also come to Sweeney’s defense. Vice President JD Vance mocked critics during a podcast appearance: “You have, like, a normal all-American beautiful girl doing a normal jeans ad… and they’ve managed to so unhinge themselves over this thing.”
He added pointedly: “My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called the controversy an example of “warped, moronic, and dense liberal thinking,” saying it reflects why “Americans voted the way they did in 2024.”
While American Eagle has stood by the campaign — posting on Instagram that the slogan “was always about the jeans” — Trump’s public endorsement has added a new political charge to an already polarizing ad.
Whether intended or not, Sweeney has found herself at the intersection of fashion, politics, and the culture wars, with the president of the United States turning her ad into a campaign rallying cry.