American Eagle shares soar after Donald Trump backs Sydney Sweeney advertising campaign

Posted On August 5, 2025August 5, 2025

Shares in American Eagle, a clothing brand, have soared by over 20 per cent after President Donald Trump backed a controversial advertising campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney.

The advert, tagged with the slogan Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans, has been considered sexist by some due to the homophonic use of the word “jeans” and its relation to genes, claiming that the actor’s image was over-sexualised.

However, the advert was backed by Trump after it emerged that Sweeney is a registered Republican voter, as he wrote on his Truth Social platform on August 4th: “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!” 

Subsequently, after the President’s post and markets opening for the day, shares in American Eagle jumped by 23 per cent. This followed a drop in its sales last week when the campaign with Sweeney was announced, which attracted criticism over the alleged inference towards her blonde hair and blue eyes.

Although the brand has seen a short-term boost in sales over the incident, it is not known whether it will impact its overall profits for the year on a huge scale, as their finances were already down by 5 per cent for 2025 so far, according to CNBC.

Despite this, Sweeney herself has been the subject of criticism after her voting records emerged. Over the weekend, she was heckled and booed at the premiere for her latest film, Americana, with one fan accusing her of being “racist” due to the advertising campaign.

The actor has not yet responded to the controversy in a public capacity, as she is next set to star in the film The Housemaid and the biopic Christy, centring on the boxer Christy Martin, before the end of the year.

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