Dear Common Dreams Readers:
Raising Questions Over Conflicts of Interest Again, Trump Lashes Out at Nordstrom on Twitter
Trump tweets that daughter Ivanka 'has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom' after company drops her products, citing poor performance
A sign for a Nordstrom department store in Seatte. (Photo: Andrew Taylor/flickr/cc)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday took to Twitter to decry what he described as unfair treatment by Nordstrom towards his daughter Ivanka a week after the department store chain announced it would no longer carry her fashion line.
"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom," he tweeted. "She is a great person—always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!"
My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017
Nordstrom said last week its decision to drop the products was based on poor performance, not the result of the boycott campaign #GrabYourWallet, which encourgages consumers not to purchase products connected to the Trump family.
Bloomberg wrote Wednesday that Trump's social media posting "renewed questions about whether he's using the presidential pulpit to sway business interests for himself or his family." Huffington Post reporter Christina Wilkie also pointed out on Twitter that the attack on Nordstrom from the @realDonaldTrump account was retweeted by the official @POTUS account. While the social media platform itself is free, she noted, the White House staff who maintain such accounts are paid, thus Trump's "taxpayer funded account [is] being used to benefit Trump's kid."
Norm Eisen, White House ethics lawyer under former President Barack Obama, meanwhile tweeted that Nordstrom should consider suing Trump under the California Unfair Competition Law, which bars any an unfair business act or practice.
Outrageous. @nordstrom, others injured should consider suing, incl. under CA Unfair Comp Law, forbidding "any unfair biz act." I will help! https://t.co/Y18Lml3rXk
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) February 8, 2017
trump! he caused the harm. let me know if you want to do it together @JoshACLU https://t.co/AFCJbS4rqR
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) February 8, 2017
The Associated Press wrote last week that "[e]ven without an official White House title, Ivanka Trump is proving to be a power player." Her husband, Jared Kushner, serves as senior Trump adviser.