President Donald Trump just seemingly confirmed a report that he wants to “go after” Amazon – a claim that caused the company’s stock to plunge by more than 6% on Wednesday.
“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!” Trump tweeted early Thursday.
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
The tweet came after Axios reported Wednesday that Trump was “obsessed” with figuring out a way to decrease Amazon’s influence through anti-trust law. Citing five sources who had discussed the matter with Trump directly, Axios said Trump is worried about the adverse impact the online retail giant has been having on local businesses. The company’s stock fell 6.2% by Wednesday’s close, its worst performance in 6 weeks. It lost an estimated $53 billion in market value.
Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man. Bezos also owns the Washington Post, an outlet Trump has repeatedly derided as “phony” and “fake news.” At one point, he referred to the paper as “Amazon Washington Post.”