Sean Spicer: Trump ‘Has Every Right as a Father’ to Use President’s Office to Attack Companies That Drop Ivanka’s Brands
White House Proves There Will Never Be Any Separation Between Trump Administration and Trump, Inc.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Wednesday afternoon said President Donald Trump has “every right as a father” to use the Office of the President to attack retailers who refuse to carry his daughter’s line of clothing and accessories.Â
Asked by a reporter at the daily press briefing what the standard is for using the official White House @POTUS Twitter account for family business, Spicer interjected, saying, “This was less about his family business than an attack on his daughter,†as Raw Story reported.Â
“He ran for president, he won, he’s leading this country,” Spicer continued, negating his first point that this is a family matter. “I think for people to take out their concern about his actions or his executive orders on members of his family, he has every right to stand up for his family and applaud their business activities, their success.”
Sean Spicer on Trump’s tweet blasting Nordstrom: The President “has every right to stand up for his family” https://t.co/8swHddQQdw
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 8, 2017
Of course, Nordstrom deciding to stop carrying Ivanka’s line isn’t a business “success.”
Almost a full week ago Nordstrom, a highly-respected century-old retailer that is an S&P 500 component announced it was dropping Ivanka Trump’s clothing line due to poor sales. The president, who claims to be a great businessman, viewed that move as a personal attack on himself and his family, and Wednesday took to Twitter to attack the retailer, accusing them of treating Ivanka Trump “unfairly.”
Stunningly, Spicer said it is “not acceptable,” for “someone to take out their concern with his policy on a family member of his.”
Later, asked again about the president’s attack on Nordstrom, Spicer was reminded that Ivanka Trump has divorced herself from her businesses, and Spicer effectively said that because her name is on the label it will never be possible for her to be separated from them.
Stating there’s “clearly been a targeting” of the First Daughter’s brand, Spicer told reporters there “clearly” are “efforts to undermine” Ivanka Trump’s brand “based on her father’s positions on particular policies that he’s taken.”
The White House Press Secretary called these efforts “a direct attack” on the President’s “policies” and his daughter’s name.
“So, there’s clearly an attempt for him to stand up for her because she is being maligned because they have a problem with his policies.”
Spicer addresses Trump Nordstrom tweet: “This is a direct attack on his policies and her name†https://t.co/sRDFPughq9
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 8, 2017
In other words, Spicer has just proven there can never be separation of any Trump brand and the Trump presidency, and paved the way for these attacks on businesses that have dealings with Trump, Inc., to continue.
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