Trump Endorsement Fuels American Eagle Surge: Sydney Sweeney Ad Goes Viral
American Eagle Outfitters rocketed into the spotlight—and the stock market stratosphere—after President Donald Trump (R) delivered his signature stamp of approval to their latest ad campaign. The buzz exploded around the retailer’s sultry “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” promotion, driving social media chatter and propelling American Eagle shares up nearly 24% in a single trading day. This remarkable leap catapulted the retailer’s market cap back over $2 billion, and solidified the brand as the latest conservative cultural flashpoint in Trump’s ongoing battle against “woke capitalism.”
The now-viral ad showcased Hollywood’s own Sydney Sweeney—star of “Euphoria” and “White Lotus,” and recently outed as a registered Republican voter—playfully discussing hereditary traits. In the spot, Sweeney purrs, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” while visually highlighting her striking blonde locks and blue eyes. The wordplay, however, soon attracted both praise and outrage online, fueling debates about “the male gaze,” body positivity, and the limits of irony in American marketing.
American Eagle initially posted the video to their official social media channels, where it racked up millions of views before being yanked amidst backlash. Left-wing critics seized on claims of racial overtones, while others, including HBO’s Bill Maher, dismissed the controversy as overblown. For American Eagle’s part, executives doubled down on the campaign’s intent, reaffirming their focus “on fashion rather than interpretation of its messaging.”
President Trump took to Truth Social and X, writing, “The Sydney Sweeney ad is the HOTTEST out there—no wonder their jeans are flying off the shelves!” He contrasted American Eagle’s success with what he slammed as Bud Light and Jaguar’s disastrous ‘woke’ advertising missteps.
Wall Street took notice in real time. By August 4, 2025, American Eagle’s share price had climbed 24%, stunning analysts and launching it into ‘meme stock’ territory, as documented in Adweek. For American Eagle investors, the Trump bump is as real as it gets.
Sweeney, Stock, and the Culture War: How Trump’s America Responded
Market analysts and political pundits alike quickly recognized the deeper implications of this American Eagle moment. Sydney Sweeney, now trending not just for her performances but for her politics, emerged as a poster child for Hollywood’s conservative undercurrent. Her revelation as a registered Republican—which became public just before President Trump’s 2024 reelection—seemed to resonate with an audience hungry for alternatives to left-wing Hollywood orthodoxy.
The genius of the “great jeans/genes” campaign lies in its catchy ambiguity. The original ad leaned on a double entendre, stoking conversation and sending sales soaring. Some critics, including several online activists and left-leaning commentators, accused American Eagle of using a white actress and the “genes” pun to tap into outdated and racially charged tropes, allegations described in detail by The Washington Post. The company held firm, releasing a statement clarifying their focus was on denim—not DNA—and warning against over-interpretation.
President Trump wasted no time in leveraging the controversy. In his posts, he sharply compared American Eagle’s surging fortunes with what he described as Bud Light and Jaguar’s “woke disasters.” In particular, he referenced Jaguar’s recent ad campaign and the beer giant’s infamous partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, both of which he claimed had resulted in billions of dollars foolishly lost. Trump’s comments reignited discussion about the cost of progressive marketing to American businesses.
Trump said: “Jaguar’s CEO just quit over a woke rebrand—while American Eagle jeans are selling out. Maybe they should pay attention.”
Critics on the left continued their pile-on, with some even likening the ad’s wordplay to “eugenic” imagery and Nazi propaganda. White House communications director Steven Cheung and Vice President JD Vance (R) punched back, decrying the uproar as “cancel culture run amok” and reminding Americans that the ad was just about jeans—and style.
Meanwhile, Sweeney herself has played coy. She’s remained largely silent on the subject outside of reiterating her love for American Eagle jeans and her pride in her Republican registration. Her growing following among young conservatives suggests her star is only going to rise. Public records confirm Sweeney became a registered Republican in Florida in June 2024, months before the president reclaimed the White House—a point her fans have enthusiastically embraced.
As chatter swirled, the “great jeans” campaign also became a meme, exploding on TikTok and X as pro-Trump influencers celebrated the brand’s resurgence and the cultural own-goal suffered by the left. The moment even roped in pop singer Taylor Swift (D), whom Trump jabbed as “no longer hot” despite her lack of direct connection to American Eagle’s campaign, as seen in reports from HuffPost España.
A conservative influencer on X summed up the moment: “This is what winning the culture war looks like. Sales, memes, and triggering the libs.”
Historic Precedents: How Conservative Backlash Shapes Brands and Markets
The unprecedented bump in American Eagle stock ties directly into a larger trend that’s defined the past few years: consumers, especially conservatives, are voting with their wallets. In recent history, woke brand blunders have resulted in multi-billion dollar losses, most memorably Bud Light’s collapse following the Dylan Mulvaney partnership and Target’s PR missteps over pride merchandise. Trump has weaponized these failures as cautionary tales, forging the expectation that brands catering to traditional American values will thrive.
The “Sweeney Surge” places American Eagle on a shortlist of companies to profit directly from the Trump effect. Never before has an ex-president—and now once again president—moved markets quite so openly through a few carefully crafted posts. According to Adweek, the company’s stock now stands at a 25-year high, its largest single-session gain in decades.
If history is any guide, the embrace of Sydney Sweeney’s ad by both conservative tastemakers and the sitting president could set a blueprint for retail brands in this new era. Already, a rash of imitators is vying for Trump’s favor in the hopes of duplicating American Eagle’s overnight success. The stock’s trajectory bears a striking resemblance to previous “meme stocks” like GameStop and AMC, though this time it’s a socially conservative spark driving the fire.
Market analyst Sarah Kim (RBC): “We haven’t seen this kind of social media and political convergence since the GameStop days. American Eagle’s performance proves that brands aligning with conservative consumers—and embracing the Trump effect—are poised to win in today’s landscape.”
The campaign’s resonance is especially significant as the retail industry approaches the critical back-to-school shopping season. Already, American Eagle’s website traffic and sales reports have registered the uptick, while Google search interest for the brand soared to a 20-year high. Although the company previously took heat for its body-positive Aerie brand, the Sweeney moment suggests American Eagle now dominates both sides of the retail culture war—tradition and trendiness in one package.
The broader take-home? For brands willing to risk “controversy” in the name of mainstream American values, the market is wide open. American Eagle’s historic run is proof: patriotic consumers—when affirmed—deliver booming business.
As the dust settles, American Eagle’s CEO summed up the lesson: “We stand by our campaign, and our customers have shown where they stand—with us.”