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Nordstrom made 'direct attack' on Trump by dumping Ivanka, White House says

The White House says the President has every right as a father to defend his family.

<p>Pres. Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</p>

SEATTLE -- Saying his daughter has been treated "so unfairly," President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to call out Seattle-based Nordstrom.

The upscale department store announced last week it would stop selling Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessory line, attributing the decision to sales performance of the first daughter's brand.

The president's tweet 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!"

In addition to tweeting on his own account, the President retweeted on his official @POTUS account.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer defended the Mr. Trump's tweet during his Wednesday press briefing, interpreting Nordstrom's decision as politically motivated.

“I think this was less about his family business, and an attack on his daughter," Spicer told a reporter.

"When it comes to his family, I think he’s been very clear how proud he is of what they do and what they’ve accomplished. For someone to take out their concern with his policies on a family member of his is just not acceptable, and the president has every right as a father to stand up for them," Spicer continued.

"This is a direct attack on his policies and her name, and so there’s clearly an attempt for him to stand up for her because she’s being maligned because they have a problem with his policies.

Nordstrom reiterated Wednesday that the decision was performance based, not political.

"Over the past year, and particularly in the last half of 2016, sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn't make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now," Nordstrom said in a statement to KING 5.

"We've had a great relationship with the Ivanka Trump team. We've had open conversations with them over the past year to share what we've seen and Ivanka was personally informed of our decision in early January."

However, the change comes amid an active "Grab Your Wallet" campaign online, calling for a boycott of companies tied to the Trump name.

@Nordstrom pls stop selling Ivanka Trump's line. #GrabYourWallet

— Vive la résistance Ⓥ (@jenniferx007) January 29, 2017

Three days before the announcement, Nordstrom's three presidents issued an internal statement to all employees on the impact of the President Trump's immigration executive. The memo, obtained by The Stranger, pointed out that founder John W. Nordstrom was an immigrant and that the company has thousands of employees that are immigrants.

The memo was verified by KING 5. However, a spokeswoman says it was intended to offer support and resources to employees directly affected by President Trump's immigration executive order.

"It didn't take a political stance and wasn't related to our decision regarding the Ivanka Trump brand," wrote a spokesperson by email.

In reaction to Nordstrom's decision, many Trump supporters have also vowed to boycott the company.

Shares in Seattle-based Nordstrom traded around $42.70 before the tweet Wednesday, then fell immediately afterward to $42.50. But it rebounded to $43.18 about 90 minutes later, ending more than 4% up for the day.

Trump's tweets have in the past also affected shares in U.S. automakers, Boeing and Carrier.

However, this is the first time the President has called out a company with ties to his family's name, raising new ethical questions and concerns.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey sent the Office a copy of President Trump's tweet to the Office of Government Ethics for review. The Office has not yet issued a comment.

Members of the Nordstrom family did not respond to KING 5's request for an interview. A search of past campaign contributions, show members of the family have donated to predominately Republican candidates.

However, Nordstrom co-president Erik Nordstrom donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton last year.

Nordstrom said it would continue to sell Trump's merchandise until it has all sold out. Ivanka Trump took steps to distance herself from her brand in November following the election.

The Associated Press and USA TODAY contributed to this report.

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