On talk show train wreck Fox & Friends, Kellyanne Conway decided to shill for her boss’s daughter. Mrs. Conway said, “It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.” They only problem is her boss is the President of the United States.
It may come as a shock to some, but the Office of Government Ethics prohibits using public office for private gain. This prohibition extends not only to those who hold office, but also their friends and relatives. It appears Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway violated this prohibition by going on television and encouraging Americans to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff”.
Ivanka is President Donald Trump’s oldest daughter. The “stuff” in question is her fashion apparel line. This line includes clothing, shoes, handbags, and other assorted accessories. And Mrs. Conway endorsement appears to be a response to the Nordstrom’s decision to drop Trump’s fashion line.
And Mrs. Conway wasn’t the only unclear with the “not using public office for private gain” concept.
“My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly,” the President tweeted from his private account. “She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!”
President Trump later re-tweeted the message from the official presidential account, @POTUS. I’ll concede tweeting on your private account is one thing, but using the official presidential account takes it to another level.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/kellyanne-conway-tweets-potus-supports-me/index.html
I don’t shop at Nordstrom. And if I did, I wouldn’t buy purses, shoes, or whatever Ivanka Trump pimps. So for me, this entire topic is stupid. And yet, I’m writing about it because people in high places can’t differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable. If you hold public office, you shouldn’t use that office to make money. It is basic government 101 and basic common sense.
Yet this administration can’s seem to differentiate between televised political events and a QVC commercial.