Overview

• President Trump publicly praised the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ad after learning the actress is a registered Republican in Florida.
• American Eagle has defended the campaign as a celebration of its denim line and said all sales from the limited-edition “Sydney Jean” will support Crisis Text Line.
• Critics have accused the ad’s pun on “jeans” and “genes” of evoking eugenic and white supremacist subtexts.
• Republican figures including Senator Ted Cruz, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung and Vice President JD Vance have dismissed the backlash as cancel culture overreach.
• Sydney Sweeney has not addressed the controversy or her political affiliation even as the ad lifts American Eagle’s stock and fuels wider culture-war debates.