Friday, February 10, 2017

White House scrambles after Kellyanne Conway’s ethics misstep

Most PR pros are eager to promote their clients’ interests—but not when it lands them in legal hot water.

Such is the lesson that Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, is learning.

On Thursday, Conway appeared on Fox News to talk about Trump’s response to Nordstrom’s decision to pull his daughter’s clothing line from its shelves.

In the interview, Conway promoted the brand—violating an ethics rule that restricts government employees from making endorsements.

CNN reported:

"Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would tell you," Conway said. "It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully -- I'm going to just, I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online."

The comments could run afoul with federal law that bars public employees from making an "endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity."

Here’s the interview:

[RELATED: Keep cool in a crisis with these tips.]

Boycott, declining sales push retailers to dump Ivanka Trump’s line

Conway’s comments came after both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus announced that they would no longer be carrying Ivanka Trump’s merchandise.

Both brands cited poor performance as the reason for the decision, rather than a political statement, but the move has caused many to praise the retailers.

Celebrities have taken to Twitter to post their recent Nordstrom shopping sprees, too. Consumers rallying behind the companies are part of a boycott called #GrabYourWallet:

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted that his daughter was “treated so unfairly” by Nordstrom:

The move prompted some to wonder how Trump will deal with other retailers that make similar decisions.

The New York Times reported:

Mr. Trump’s complaint also raised questions about how he might handle the moves of numerous other companies as their relationships with Trump brands change. The large national discount retailers T. J. Maxx and Marshalls, and Neiman Marcus, the luxury department store, for example, have recently taken steps to give less prominence to Ms. Trump’s products.

White House’s terse response

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Conway has been “counseled on that subject,” but he refused to offer additional information:

Conway kept played her comments close to the vest as well, following the misstep. MSN reported:

Speaking on Fox News Thursday evening, Conway declined to comment but said Trump supports her “100 percent.”

“All I can say to America’s women is, at some point in your life, you ought to have a boss who treated me like the president of the United States treated me today,” she said.

Though Spicer didn’t say much, MSN reported: “The White House reaction was a rare acknowledgment of an ethical misstep.”

However, the nod to a mistake might not be enough.

Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to the director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub Jr. The letter read, in part:


MSN reported:

The incident was the latest illustration of how the Trump White House has struggled to grapple with long-established ethics rules as the president has attempted to balance the potentially competing interests of his new public position and his family’s vast business holdings.

… Although Trump has said that most ethics laws and rules do not apply to the president, Conway’s stumble Thursday served as a reminder that staffers are nonetheless subject to those provisions.

The incident also serves as a reminder to PR pros in all industries to ensure they do not cross ethical boundaries when speaking on behalf of a client or organization. Communicators risk creating a crisis—or exacerbating an ongoing firestorm—if they don’t watch what they say.

(Image via)

from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2kAhEMe
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)