Washington Gov. Jay Inslee took aim at President Donald Trump again Tuesday, this time defending one of the top job creators in his state.
Inslee used Trump’s favorite medium to stick up for Amazon in response to a series of tweets in which the president accused the company of skirting taxes and exploiting the U.S. Postal Service, among other qualms. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, Wash.
The president's attacks on @Amazon are unfounded and misguided. A big part of Washington's economic success is due to Amazon's 40,000+ employees in our state and the small businesses they empower to sell to the world.
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) April 3, 2018
Over the past few days, Trump has been bashing Amazon for using USPS as its personal “Delivery Boy” and paying “little or no taxes to state & local governments.” He also accused The Washington Post of pushing Amazon’s agenda because the retailer’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, also owns the newspaper.
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
While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars. The Failing N.Y. Times reports that “the size of the company’s lobbying staff has ballooned,” and that…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2018
…does not include the Fake Washington Post, which is used as a “lobbyist” and should so REGISTER. If the P.O. “increased its parcel rates, Amazon’s shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion.” This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2018
Only fools, or worse, are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed. Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country…not a level playing field!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018
Fact checkers and news organizations (including GeekWire) have disputed Trump’s claims that Amazon is ripping USPS off. Package delivery is actually a rare revenue generator for the service, which is in financial trouble.
Inslee is making a habit of going after Trump. His tweet comes a few weeks after a White House summit of governors where he slammed the president’s proposal to arm teachers in the wake of the deadly Parkland, Fla. school shooting. “We need a little less tweeting here and a little more listening,” Inslee said.