CNN Panel: Trump Attacking Nordstrom Highlights His Many Potential “Conflicts Of Interest”

Decision To Drop Ivanka's Underperforming Brand Was “Basic Business, Which Donald Trump Should Understand”

From the February 8 edition of CNN's Inside Politics:

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DANA BASH (HOST): There's something that the president did this morning that is probably going to make, and [is] already making, Republicans very uncomfortable ... they get uncomfortable when he tweets about any business. This time he tweeted about his daughter's. Here's what he said; “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing. Terrible!” Now, as a daughter, I would hope that my father would defend me and would defend anything that I did, but if my father was president and this was sort of on the border, I'm not so sure.

DOMENICO MONTANARO: Well, I mean, maybe she's okay with it. We don't know. But what she -- what he does with these businesses and the impact that a lot of -- you know, businesses love certainty, and when they're not sure when they wake up in the morning if their business is suddenly going to be in the line of fire on Donald Trump's tweets, that makes for a problematic situation if you are somebody who is concerned about that business. The Nordstrom situation had to do with the fact that, because people were boycotting Nordstrom, fewer people were buying the brand. They wound up discontinuing the line.

BASH: It's basic business, which Donald Trump should understand.

MONTANARO: They were slashing prices 40 percent. In addition to that -- this lawsuit that Melania Trump filed -- they argue in there that she's losing potentially $150 million because she has now gained this new prominent position where she could have made money off of accessories, or jewelry, or makeup lines, because of allegations that were made by a newspaper. These things all do continue to raise the conflicts of interest potential.

Related:

Trump Slams Nordstrom For Dropping Daughter Ivanka’s Brand

Melania Trump's $150 Million Libel Suit Is Based On A Falsehood

Previously:

News Networks Sidelined Trump's Conflicts Of Interest Until His Election

Too Little, Too Late: Weeks After Election, Media See Trump's Conflicts, Potential Self-Dealings, And Corruption

On This Week, Government Ethics Experts Outline Trump's Unconstitutional Conflicts Of Interest