The Department of Defense tapped into the MAGA movement’s obsession with the American Eagle advertising campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney on Monday afternoon, as it shared an image of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s outfit with the caption: “@secdef has great jeans.”
Sweeney has faced criticism for the ad campaign, which critics have argued includes racist messaging, provoking outrage from the right in response.
Even President Donald Trump jumped into the fray, praising the ad after it was reported that Sweeney is a registered Republican in Florida. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Vice President JD Vance have also made statements in support of Sweeney.
The president addressed reporters on the runway in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Sunday night.
“She’s a registered Republican?” Trump asked. “Now I love her ad.”
Trump took to Truth Social on Monday morning to say that “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there.”
“It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves,’” he claimed.
Critics of the American Eagle ad campaign have accused the company of spreading “racist” and “Nazi propaganda.” Some have argued that it pushes eugenic ideals with its wordplay on “jeans” and “genes.”
Some of those slamming the ad campaign have argued that the two phrases harken back to the debunked racist theory pushed by the Nazis that the human race can be improved via selective breeding.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,” Sweeney says in one of the ads.
“My jeans are blue,” she adds, before a narrator says, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” American Eagle said in response to the criticism. “Her jeans. Her story.”
“We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,” the statement added. “Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The tweet by the Department of Defense featuring the jeans-clad Secretary of Defense faced mockery on X.
“We’re not a serious country anymore,” the group Republicans Against Trump wrote.
“Hey parents, I know your son or daughter maybe in harm’s way and doing a lethal job, but triggering the libs is our ultimate goal here at DOD,” said former Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
“He’ll tell you all about them, along with America’s top secret attack plans, on a signal group chat,” said Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark.
“I just want a serious government—and particularly a serious Department of Defense—that doesn’t waste time or energy shilling for the egos of its leadership with glam shots like this. Don’t you? Surely this isn’t an unreasonable expectation,” said Heath Mayo, founder of Principles First.
Former CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr asked, “Is this what the Pentagon thought was important today?”
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