The Sydney Sweeney Economy

August 9, 2025 3

Donald Trump is president, commander in chief and also CEO.

Sydney Sweeney is hardly seen as a barometer of national economic policy. But maybe she should be.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump weighed in on her ad campaign for American Eagle jeans, which says: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The ad was met with disapproval in some quarters.

The president posted to Truth Social on Monday: “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ’em Sydney!”

American Eagle’s stock soared 23% following Trump’s comments.

It hardly rises to the level of Trump’s long-standing criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell – and his campaign to get the central bank chief to resign ahead of his term’s expiration in May. Or Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief after a weak jobs report that he termed “rigged.” But it offers a simple window into his mindset when it comes to matters of business and the economy, which has reeled at times from his mercurial approach.

But don’t expect Trump to change. Even before he won the election, Trump was an advocate of tariffs, and his direct negotiations with heads of state and social media posts announcing duties on a wide array of U.S. trading partners show how much he drives economic policy. Just Thursday, he threatened 100% import duties on crucial computer chips brought into the country, a move that had not been telegraphed.

He has also inserted himself into the operational activities of major U.S. corporations. The latest move came Thursday, when he demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who only took over the reins of the U.S. chipmaker in March. “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”

Normally, such decisions are made by a company’s board of directors. But Trump appears to see himself not only as president but the CEO of America. Look no further than his involvement in how Coca-Cola flavors its signature drink.

It’s a level of intervention in the U.S. economy not seen since the post-World War II era, when President Harry Truman threatened to seize steel mills in the wake of the war after workers struck. And it is in direct contrast to the long-standing mantra of the Republican Party to be hands off when it comes to corporate America.

Indeed, the GOP routinely castigated former President Joe Biden for what some called his “Marxist” policies. But now lawmakers are all aboard the Trump train, and woe to anyone who questions the orthodoxy.

Just ask Elon Musk, whose criticism of Trump’s support for a debt-busting budget deal earlier this year led to the Tesla CEO’s being cast out of the inner circle of the White House.

Trump’s interest in business matters fits with his carefully crafted image as a successful take-charge businessman – despite multiple bankruptcy filings – that he parlayed into a successful TV career with the reality show “The Apprentice.”

We’ll see how well his hands-on approach to the country’s economy works out.

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2025-08-08/the-sydney-sweeney-economy

Written by: Joshua Stuart

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