President Trump on Wednesday defended his daughter's business in an ethically dubious tweet — complaining one of the nation's largest retailers had treated her "unfairly."
"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" he wrote just before 11 a.m., days after the company said it would drop the First Daughter's brand over poor sales.
The official @POTUS Twitter account soon retweeted the dispatch.
Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called Trump's attack on the Seattle-based business "unprecedented for a number of reasons."
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"It's pretty rare for the President to use the power of the presidency to go after a company. And to do so on behalf of his family’s business interests is certainly something we've never seen before," he told the Daily News.
"This is a weapon he could be wielding to benefit his family … It plays into this larger narrative where people have to wonder, when he’s making decisions in the office of the President, are they being made with the American people's best interests in mind or with the Trump family’s bottom line in mind?"
The Twittersphere, too, erupted over the President's perceived conflict of interest. Trump last year told the New York Times that "the president can't have a conflict of interest."
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"This is something a father would say," tweeted Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush. "It's not the type of thing a President of the United States should say."
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Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) quoted Trump's tweet, tagging the Twitter account for the Office of Government Ethics — which states executive branch employees "must remain impartial when performing Government duties."
"A criminal conflict of interest statute, 18 U.S.C. § 208, prohibits certain activities by the employee when the activity affects the financial interest of the employee’s spouse or minor children or entities in which the employee serves in a position such as trustee or director," the office states on its website.
"The Wire" creator David Simon likened the move to "extortion."
"Is there something past ordinary emoluments prohibitions that references a US president attacking companies for NOT paying his family?" Simon tweeted. "I mean, for f–k sake, this is no longer a dainty little debate over emoluments. This is what's known in the gutters as extortion."
And ethics expert Norm Eisen, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, branded the POTUS's complaint "outrageous."
"@nordstrom, others injured should consider suing, incl. under CA Unfair Comp Law, forbidding 'any unfair biz act.'" he wrote. "I will help!"
Nordstrom announced last week, amid a growing #GrabYourWallet campaign urging consumers to boycott Trump-related businesses and retailers selling the family's products, that it would phase out Ivanka Trump's line.
“We’ve said all along we make buying decisions based on performance. We've got thousands of brands — more than 2,000 offered on the site alone. Reviewing their merit and making edits is part of the regular rhythm of our business," a spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter.
"Each year we cut about 10 percent and refresh our assortment with about the same amount. In this case, based on the brand's performance we've decided not to buy it for this season."
Reps for Nordstrom and Ivanka Trump's brand did not immediately return The News’ request for comment. Messages left for the office of Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who as House Oversight Committee Chairman would have the authority to investigate any fraud or abuse coming out of the White House, were not immediately returned.
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