Amazon Stocks Falling as ‘Obsessed’ Trump Voices Dislike of Company

Trump Bezos

President Trump is eyeing ways to go after technology giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), after friends revealed to him that the company is hurting brick-and-mortar retailers, according to a report. 

Details of Trump’s ire have been outlined in a report by Axios’ Jonathan Swan, who has discussed the issue with sources close to Trump. One such source is quoted as saying that Trump is ‘obsessed’ with Amazon, while another claims that Trump is considering anyway to go after Amazon’ with competition law.

The president has been vocal in his dislike of the online retail giant in the past, using Twitter as his soapbox of choice. In 2017, the president Tweeted:

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…which hints that possible changes to the company’s tax arrangement could be on Trump’s agenda. In his August tweet, it is reasonable to assume that the president is referring to the fact that Amazon, as well as other online retailers, are not required to pay sales tax in certain states. In response to Trump’s criticism, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos joked in 2016 that he would blast Mr. Trump – then running for President as an underdog – into space. “I have a rocket company,” he said, “so the capability is there.

Superficial feuds aside, Trump’s thinking is reportedly driven by complaints from ‘wealthy friends’ who tell him that their physical retail businesses are being hurt by Amazon, while his contacts in real estate echo similar sentiments in regards to shopping malls and storefronts. 

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In addition, Trump tweeted in December last year that the U.S. Post Office should be charging the company “much more” to deliver their packages – a service upon which Amazon heavily relies. 

Investors are clearly concerned with what the president may do, and Amazon stocks have dropped on the news. At the time of writing, prices are down nearly -4% in the last 24 hours to $1,437.50 USD, marking the first significant drop in the company’s share value since early February. 

Featured image: Breitbart/Getty

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