Nordstrom hits back after White House claims it lodged a 'direct attack' against Trump

Nordstrom is defending its decision to drop Ivanka Trump's fashion line after the White House on Wednesday accused the retailer of lodging a "direct attack" against President Trump's policies.

A company representative said Ivanka Trump was personally informed of Nordstrom's decision to drop the brand in early January, and that the decision was based on the brand's poor sales performance.

"To reiterate what we've already shared when asked, we made this decision based on performance," the company said in a statement. "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 issued the statement in response to attacks from President Trump and the White House, which accused the company of deliberately trying to tarnish Ivanka Trump's name.

"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom," President Trump tweeted on Wednesday. "She is a great person - always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!"

White House press secretary Sean Spicer backed up Trump's statement a couple hours later, saying Nordstrom's decision was a "direct attack on his policies and [Ivanka Trump's] name."

"She is being maligned," he said.

Nordstrom said, however, that the company has "had a great relationship with the Ivanka Trump team."