Trump is reportedly 'obsessed' with bringing down Amazon's Jeff Bezos


He hasn't come up with a nickname for him yet á la Little Marco or Lyin' Ted Cruz, but President Trump definitely has it out for Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, several people close to Trump told Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman.
In recent days, Trump has directed several vitriolic tweets at Bezos, accusing Amazon of using "our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.)" and "putting many thousands of retailers out of business!" After a sharp tweet on Monday morning, Amazon's stocks went down 5 percent, and four people close to Trump told Sherman that he wants to use Twitter to hurt the company. "It's war," one person said, with another revealing: "He gets obsessed with something, and now he's obsessed with Bezos. Trump is like, how can I f--k with him?"
Trump has said he wants the U.S. Postal Service to increase Amazon's shipping costs, ignoring his former economic adviser Gary Cohn, who told him that Amazon is actually boosting business, Sherman reports, and Trump has also been urged by advisers to cancel a pending multibillion contract Amazon has with the Pentagon to provide cloud computing services. The real issue, though, is that Bezos owns the Post, one person said, and the president can't get over that. "Trump doesn't like The New York Times, but he reveres it because it's his hometown paper," they said. "The Washington Post, he has zero respect for." Could it be because of this? Or maybe this? Perhaps this? Read more about Trump's one-sided war at Vanity Fair.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The sneaky rise of whooping cough
Under the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
7 nightlife destinations that are positively electric
The Week Recommends Accra, Seoul, Berlin: These are a few of the cities that come alive after dark
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Crossword: April 15, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US