Donald Trump Takes Another Shot at Amazon and Jeff Bezos
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty
On Thursday, President Trump took another shot at Amazon on Twitter, calling out the company for their extremely low tax rate and bemoaning that they “are putting many thousands of retailers out of business.”
I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2018
Despite his attacks against the company, Axios reported on Wednesday that Trump does not have a plan to enact new regulations or taxes against Amazon. After the Axios report was published, the value of Amazon shares plummeted.
Trump’s dislike of Amazon is well-documented, as he tweeted about the company and its CEO Jeff Bezos back in 2015. Trump took a jab at Amazon, calling it a “no profit company,” and at the Bezos-owned The Washington Post, saying it’s “losing a fortune.”
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
Bezos fired back in a tweet towards then-candidate Trump:
Finally trashed by @realDonaldTrump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. #sendDonaldtospacehttps://t.co/9OypFoxZk3
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 7, 2015
Trump’s recent attack against Amazon on Twitter seems hypocritical, considering his recent tax reform bill that lowered the corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and gave businesses like the Trump Organization a 20 percent tax deduction. The tweet was likely just red meat for his base as he continues to try to portray himself as a fighter for the working class while, in reality, he slashes corporate taxes and buddies up with Wall Street big shots.