WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House defended President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Nordstrom retail chain on Wednesday, saying the firm’s decision to drop his daughter Ivanka’s clothing line for the coming season was politically motivated attack.

“I think this was less about his family’s business than an attack on his daughter,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a news briefing.

Although Nordstrom has said the decision not to carry Ivanka Trump’s line was based on its performance, Spicer said there had been “a direct attack on his policies and her name” and Trump was standing up for her because she was “being maligned because they have a problem with his policies.”