Vice President Vance jumped into the debate over Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad campaign, goading Democrats to continue their criticism. 

“My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,” Mr. Vance said on Friday while speaking on a conservative podcast. “That appears to be their actual strategy.”

The vice president framed the backlash over “a normal all-American beautiful girl doing like a normal jeans ad” as emblematic of broader Democratic missteps, questioning whether the political party learned “nothing” from the November 2024 election. 

“Like, I actually thought that one of the lessons they might take is, ‘We’re going to be less crazy.’ And the lesson they have apparently taken is, ‘We’re going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful.’ Great strategy, guys. That’s how you’re going to win the midterm, especially young American men,” he added. 

The 27-year-old bombshell actress’s collaboration with the American clothing company dropped last week under the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” and its initial launch sent hearts — and the company’s stock price — racing. 

Attention to the campaign only grew as the retailer rolled out promotional clips featuring the “Euphoria” actress traipsing around in an all-denim ensemble in varying levels of undress, at times partaking in quintessential Americana activities. In one clip, Ms. Sweeney cozies up to a German shepherd puppy; in another, she’s leaning over the open hood of a white Mustang. 

The company began to take heat, however, as it shared ads that leveraged the wordplay of the campaign’s title. “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” the “Euphoria” actress says in one clip. The camera then pans up to her bright blue eyes before she utters: “My jeans are blue.” 

Another video shows Ms. Sweeney approaching a billboard of her campaign with the slightly altered tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.” The camera follows Ms. Sweeney as she crosses out the word “Genes” and replaces it with “Jeans.” 

The advertisement — which centers around a conventionally attractive white woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slim build and incorporates quintessential Americana imagery — represents a marked shift from American Eagle’s past campaigns, which tended to emphasize physical and racial diversity. 

The campaign’s non-woke approach and clever wordplay ignited outrage among left-wing commentators and disgruntled customers who accused the retailer of evoking eugenics-era language and promoting white-supremacist ideals.

On social media, American Eagle’s Instagram account was inundated with negative comments, with some consumers pledging to boycott the company. Brand strategists and marketing experts on LinkedIn called the campaign “outrageously racist.” An MSNBC producer wrote that the ad “shows an unbridled cultural shift toward whiteness.”

At the same time, however, the campaign has received significant support from those who celebrate the brand’s unabashed rejection of woke marketing approaches.  

Senator Ted Cruz came to Ms. Sweeney’s defense this week, chiding the “crazy Left” for coming “out against beautiful women.” He added: “I’m sure that will poll well….”