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While Donald Trump Impeachment Frenzy Gains Steam, Ivanka Trump’s Brand Smolders

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 02:18 PST, Feb 12, 2017

Calls for Donald Trump’s impeachment are rising almost daily in the news, as polls suggest. First Daughter Ivanka Trump, ostensibly, may be a casualty of her father’s early-perceived missteps and rumored impeachable offenses. While Donald faces calls for removal, more stores are “dumping” Ivanka merchandise.

On Saturday, The Cut published a news headline titled, “Sears, Kmart Dump Ivanka Trump Products From Online Stores.” Luxury retailer Nordstrom has already ruffled Donald Trump’s feathers by parting company with his daughter’s brand. Other concepts hosting Ivanka’s merchandise followed suit in their sales models. It’s unclear if there’s an impeachment connection.

News sources say Kmart and Sears decided to cease offering items under the “Trump Home” brand on their websites. Brian Hanover, a spokesperson for the two coalition companies, released a statement about the decision to sever ties with Ivanka Trump.

“As part of the company’s initiative to optimize its online product assortment, we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items … Amid that streamlining effort, 31 Trump Home items were among the items removed online this week.”

After Nordstrom’s executive and operations teams decided on “sell-through,” a measure that offers no replenishment after shelf-depletion, several other brands made similar moves. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have “spent the week distancing themselves” from the Ivanka Trump brand. And Neiman Marcus put a halt to selling Ivanka’s pricey jewelry the previous weekend.

On the surface, many believe Donald Trump’s looming calls for impeachment over his divisive policies towards immigrants, his threats to overturn Obamacare and a host of blunders by White House staff have soured Ivanka’s brand.

Nevertheless, at least one company refutes that its decision to cull Ivanka products was based on impeachment worries and politics. Still, according to a CNBC News report, Kellyane Conway’s plugging of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise (“buy her stuff”) during a televised White House briefing didn’t help the cause.

The Post pointed to a Saturday report in the Wall Street Journal on Nordstrom, which said sales of Ivanka Trump merchandise “fell by nearly one-third in the past fiscal year, with sharp drops in sales weeks before her father Donald Trump was elected president.” Further, the report said sales fell some 70 percent weeks before the November election.

Tara Darrow, a spokesperson with the WSJ, issued a statement via email, not on the merits of the report. Rather, she denied divulging statistics.

“We have not and will not share specific sales results numbers related to this brand or any other brand.”

Donald Trump has been in office less than a month, and his unfavorable ratings are reportedly plummeting. Moreover, calls to oust him are growing, as Inquisitr reported previously.

“Three weeks after his inauguration, after a series of scandals, controversies, and protests, Americans may already be hoping for an early end to the Donald Trump presidency.”

In a recent poll on Friday by the Public Policy Polling, the opinions are mixed on impeachment: 50 percent of respondents are leaning towards impeaching the new commander in chief while an equal number are opposed to impeachment hearings.

The latest poll marks the first time that the ratio of Americans expressing a strong desire to lay charges against the sitting President rivals the number of voters who show support and tolerance for his administration.

Multiple critics say President Donald Trump should be impeached on several grounds: executive branch overreach (immigrant and refugee travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries), conflict of interests with his Trump brand (lack of divestiture) and his peculiar relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to name a few.

However, the issue taking precedence for impeachment as of late is based on disturbing information that emerged about the President’s Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Thomas “Mike” Flynn, a retired United States Army lieutenant general who was the 18th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Flynn is under fire for allegedly discussing upcoming sanctions on Russia with an ambassador in the country, citing a report from the Washington Post. Reportedly, one month before Donald Trump took office, Flynn spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about Obama’s intent to impose sanctions on the country for its alleged interference and computer hacking in the presidential election.

According to WAPO, Flynn’s pre-inaugural actions as a private citizen may have violated the “Logan Act” of 1799, which says it’s illegal to mingle private affairs with foreign disputes. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, weighed in on the controversy.

“It’s far less significant if he violated the Logan Act and far more significant if he willfully misled this country. Why would he conceal the nature of the call unless he was conscious of wrongdoing?”

The matter was exacerbated when Flynn and members of the Trump Administration denied that the incident ever occurred. Later, via a spokesperson, Flynn “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”

A growing number of Democrats and law experts say that Flynn’s actions may constitute collusion with the Kremlin and may be perceived as an attempt by President Trump to tamper with the election. As such, impeachment may be in order, as sources report.

As CBS wrote, Eric Schiffer, the chief executive of Reputation Management Consultants, has advice for Ivanka Trump over the perceived Donald Trump backlash and impeachment movement.

“The best option for Ivanka Trump’s brand? Refocus on consumers outside the U.S., where Mr. Trump’s actions may not be as examined as intently as within America, Schiffer says.”

[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]

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