Get ready for Donald Trump vs. Jeff Bezos, Round 2.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee attacked the Amazon CEO during an appearance on FOX News on Thursday‚ asserting again that Bezos is using his ownership of the Washington Post as a political tool to keep regulators and lawmakers from pursuing Amazon over antitrust and tax issues. Trump asserts that the Washington Post is digging up dirt on him to further its owner’s political objectives.
Here’s a portion of what Trump said about Bezos during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show.
I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos, who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder tax-wise. He’s using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed. … He’s worried about me — I think he said that to somebody, it was in some article — where he thinks I would go after him for antitrust, because he’s got a huge antitrust problem, because he’s controlling so much. Amazon is controlling so much of what they’re doing.
He bought this paper for practically nothing, and he’s using that as a tool for political power, against me and against other people, and I’ll tell you what, we can’t let him get away with it.
This isn’t the first time Trump has raised the issue, but it’s coming to a head as reporters examine him even more closely in the buildup to the Republican Convention in the general election later this year. The last time Trump raised these issues, Bezos had a classic reply.
Finally trashed by @realDonaldTrump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. #sendDonaldtospace https://t.co/9OypFoxZk3
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 7, 2015
We’ve contacted Amazon on the off chance the company wants to comment on Trump’s latest remarks.
