NSA Withholding Secrets From President Trump?; Trump Adviser Makes Unsubstantiated Claim of Voter Fraud.
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Let's turn to our "MONEY LEAD" now. More trouble for the Trump brand. Sears and Kmart are just the latest major U.S. retailers to announce they're dropping some Trump brand products. This comes after President Trump blasted Nordstrom on Twitter last week, for the company's decision to discontinue Ivanka Trump's line, which Nordstrom blamed on slumping sales. CNNMoney's Cristina Alesci joins me now live. And Cristina, break it down for us, is this more about politics or brand performance for this retailers?</s>CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, it's all about spin, because the retailers want the public to believe that a decline in sales for Trump products drove their decisions, but Ivanka's camp and Trump's in general, would like it to believe -- would like people to believe that the retailers are just taking cheap shots. Now, look, based on my reporting, the decision to drop Trump brands are tied to both money and politics.</s>MELISSA MCCARTHY, PORTRAYS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY SEAN SPICER ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: It's beautiful, it's shimmery, it's elegant, and at $39.99. It is an unbelievably affordable.</s>ALESCI: This may not have been the publicity Ivanka Trump was looking for. Nevertheless, the biggest audience in years tuned in to "Saturday Night Live", after T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom distanced themselves from the First daughter's fashion line. Over the weekend, Sears and Kmart also dropped Trump's home brand.</s>KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.</s>ALESCI: A highly controversial plug for Ivanka's label from the White House, and an attack on Nordstrom from the president himself, come as sales of Ivanka's brand drop. According to one retail analysis firm, online sales for Ivanka's fashion brand were down 26 percent in January compared to the same time last year. A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump's line tells CNN, "We've seen our brand swept into the political fray, becoming collateral damage in others' efforts to advance agendas unrelated to what we do." Adding that the brand saw increased sales last year.</s>JAMIE TURNER, 60 SECOND MARKETER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: There are two ways to look at sales data. One, is the full year versus trends. You might see a pattern there that's not very positive. The result is you'll pull the product off the shelf.</s>ALESCI: Nordstrom says the choice to drop Ivanka's line was based on performance, not on politics. And the decision doesn't seem to hurt Nordstrom. The company's stock jumped immediately following the controversy. And celebrities such as Rosie O'Donnell and Chelsea Handler took to social media to troll Trump with photos of their purchases.</s>TURNER: The Donald Trump brand tends to skew a little bit older. They focusing on older males who might not be as sensitive to some of the things that he is saying. The Ivanka Trump brand on the other hand is focusing on urban millennials. They are sensitive to what's going on. And as a result, they're pulling back what their purchasing on the Ivanka Trump brand.</s>ALESCI: It was still a busy weekend for at least one Trump brand. President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida which has recently doubled its membership dues, provided the high-profile backdrop with a visit with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A presidential product placement unlike any other.</s>ALESCI: Bottom line, Jake, this story shows that retailers especially are worried about a backlash from consumers, so much so that they're willing to take a risk and wade into politics, which is not something they typically like to do if it means preserving their bottom lines. And this is definitely new territory for corporate America, Jake.</s>TAPPER: Cristina Alesci, thank you so much. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter @JAKETAPPER or you can tweet the show @THELEADCNN. That is it for THE LEAD, I'm Jake Tapper. I turn you over now to Wolf Blitzer, he is right next door in a place I like to call "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thanks for watching.