Earlier this week, President Donald Trump weighed in on her American Eagle jeans ad, which declares: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The campaign drew mixed reactions — but it got the president’s enthusiastic stamp of approval.
On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ’em, Sydney!”
That single post sent American Eagle’s stock soaring 23% the next day.
It’s hardly on the same level as Trump’s frequent battles with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — including calls for Powell to resign before his term ends in May — or his abrupt firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief after a weak jobs report he deemed “rigged.” But it does illustrate Trump’s tendency to inject himself into business matters in a way few presidents have.
And that’s not new. Trump has long been a champion of tariffs, using them as a blunt tool in trade negotiations and announcing new duties directly on social media. Just this Thursday, he threatened 100% tariffs on imported computer chips — a move that came without warning.
The same day, he demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who had only been in the job since March. “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump wrote. “There is no other solution to this problem.”
Normally, such calls come from a company’s board, not the Oval Office. But Trump seems to see himself as both president and CEO of the United States. He’s even weighed in on how Coca-Cola flavors its soda.
It’s an unusually hands-on approach to the economy, one not seen since Harry Truman threatened to seize steel mills after World War II. And it’s a far cry from the Republican Party’s traditional “hands-off” stance toward corporate America.
Yet, GOP lawmakers — who once blasted former President Joe Biden for “socialist” or “Marxist” policies — now fall in line behind Trump, and anyone who dissents risks being cut off. Elon Musk learned that firsthand after criticizing Trump’s debt-heavy budget deal earlier this year; the Tesla CEO quickly found himself out of the White House inner circle.
For Trump, this kind of intervention is part of the brand — the decisive, take-charge businessman persona he built in real estate and reality TV, despite multiple bankruptcies along the way.
Whether his personal involvement in corporate affairs will pay off for the economy remains to be seen.