Overview

• Donald Trump Jr. shared an AI-generated image of President Trump in double denim on Instagram, captioning it “so hot!” in a nod to Zoolander’s Hansel character.
• The parody mirrors American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney campaign, whose “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” tagline was criticized as a play on “good genes” with alleged eugenic overtones.
• Activist Zellie Imani condemned the original Sweeney ad as a “love letter to white nationalism and eugenic fantasies.”
• Senator Ted Cruz defended the campaign as a backlash against the “crazy Left,” and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung labeled criticism “cancel culture run amok.”
• Observers say the viral AI image underscores the growing use of artificial intelligence to intensify culture-war clashes over race, advertising and satire.