Donald Trump's six weird words after learning Sydney Sweeney is a Republican
President Donald Trump was told that Sydney Sweeney, who sparked controversy with an advert for jeans, is a registered Republican which took him by surprise and led him to make an odd statement
While on the runway in Pennsylvania on Sunday evening, Donald Trump stopped to answer questions from reporters who were gathered there. One informed the US president that actress Sydney Sweeney is a Republican.
His somewhat strange six word reply appeared to reveal that he was unaware that the Euphoria star, whose recent jeans campaign has sparked furious backlash over its ‘eugenics-coded’ messaging, has political leanings close to his own.
"I’m glad you told me that," he replied to the reporter before adding that the nugget of information certainly swayed his opinion on the American Eagle advert. It comes after Donald Trump's mental state 'clear to see' as lawmakers urged to 'act now'
The interaction came when Trump was about to board Air Force One before heading back to Washington from Allentown. When he was told that it had come out that Sydney, 27, was a registered Republican, he was clearly surprised and told reporters: "Oh, now I love her ad. 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."
According to the New York Post, which claimed to have viewed public voter records, the White Lotus actress was registered with the Republican Party of Florida in Monroe County since June 2024. She hasn’t publicly supported Trump, though.
Her recent Fall 2025 campaign for America Eagle jeans features the blonde haired, blue-eyed beauty wearing various denim outfits. In the ad, she said: "Genes are passed down from parent to offspring, often determining traits from hair colour to personality and even eye colour - my genes are blue." A voiceover then adds: "Sydney Sweeney has great genes." In the US, American Eagle's billboard ads show the word 'genes' crossed out and replaced with 'jeans'.
The ad sparked furious backlash with some claiming that it promotes the ideology of eugenics, which is the theory that humans can be improved by selective breeding. Although the ideology is now widely and scientifically condemned, it helped lay the groundwork for how society continues to define beauty and value.
On social media fans were divided, with some outraged at the message they believed it was promoting. One wrote: "The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign is just modern day Nazi propaganda. Like it’s wild how blatant it is. Things are weird right now, man."
Another shared: "In the extremely conservative climate we’re in today where right-wing, white nationalism and patriotism is rising, this advert is a dog whistle to the racists out there, confirming their way of thinking and way of life is correct."
Others disagreed, with one X user writing: "The backlash to Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad campaign is just insane. My God, you can like the ad or not, but there’s nothing racist about it." Another raged: "The claim that Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad is pro-eugenics because of a 'good genes/jeans' pun is genuinely unhinged. It’s a denim campaign, not a manifesto. Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi. Some of you need a history book - and a nap."
The White House also jumped to Sydney’s defence. Vice President JD Vance said she was an "all-American beautiful woman." Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung said: "This warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They’re tired of this bulls***." He also labelled the reaction to the ad: "cancel culture run amok."
Last Friday American Eagle defended the star and its campaign. It posted on Instagram: "'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story." It added: "We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone."
Sources close to the company told TMZ that the online backlash is "absurd". An insider claimed that independent polling discovered 71% of the people found the ad to be "appealing". They added: "This is yet another example of how social media is just not reflective of real life. The absurd response from some corners of the internet is absolutely not reflective of how American Eagle's customers feel.
"The bottom line is that this was about creating a great pair of jeans and supporting a very worthy cause through some of the proceeds going to domestic violence prevention. Anything beyond that is noise that is not registering with the average person. Regardless of how people feel about the ad, we hope they can agree we should be doing more to support and empower those who are experiencing domestic violence."