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The controversy became explicitly partisan after reports emerged that Sweeney was registered as a Republican. President Donald Trump publicly praised both Sweeney and the advertisement after learning of the registration and later characterized the campaign as a rejection of “woke” advertising. That intervention made it even harder to separate Sweeney herself from the political symbolism that had accumulated around her.

Right-leaning commentators subsequently embraced the campaign as evidence of a broader cultural shift, while critics argued that the political celebration reinforced their concern that Sweeney was being used as an avatar for a particular vision of race, beauty and traditional femininity. PolitiFact's review of the online reaction, however, found substantial support for the advertisement as well as criticism, underscoring that the most inflammatory objections were not necessarily representative of public opinion as a whole.

Sweeney largely avoided joining that political debate. When later questioned about the American Eagle controversy, she said she had been surprised by the reaction and viewed the campaign primarily as an advertisement for jeans. She subsequently said that she opposed “hate and divisiveness” and acknowledged that remaining quiet had allowed competing interpretations to grow.

By September 2026, she was facing a new controversy that had little to do with conservative politics or race. Sweeney appeared in an advertisement for the sports prediction company Novig, in which she posed with sports equipment while wearing little or no clothing. She was more than a hired spokesperson: reporting described her as a strategic partner and equity holder in the company.

This time, much of the criticism came directly from female athletes rather than political pundits. Olympic champions and other competitors argued that the campaign reduced women in sports to sexual imagery at a moment when women's athletics has been fighting for recognition based on performance, skill and achievement.

Former Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus described the advertisement as insulting to women who had devoted their lives to athletics. Other athletes responded by posting footage of themselves training and competing, presenting those images as an alternative depiction of what women in sport actually look like.