The backlash went pretty much as follows: On Aug. 1, American Eagle issued a statement doubling down on the campaign and its themes, which was not received well. The White House defended the ad, Sydney was subsequently outed as a registered Republican, and then Donald Trump got involved to voice his support of the actor and her AE campaign.
Before this, the 27-year-old had been publicly apolitical, even when responding to backlash over pictures she posted from a family party where attendees could be seen wearing MAGA-style hats and “Blue Lives Matter” tops in the background.