Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos suggests launching Donald Trump into space
Donald Trump's plan to skewer Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos went horribly awry when Bezos suggested removing the Republican frontrunner from the face of the earth by promoting the hashtag #SendDonaldToSpace. It all began early Wednesday when Trump took a swing at The Washington Post, a paper owned by Bezos, whose editorial board called Trump a "narcissistic bully" back in late November.
Trump's dig at Bezos' "no-profit" company, Amazon, is particularly odd since Bezos' wealth greatly outranks Trump's. And while Trump might be running for the Republican nomination, Bezos is likely feeling pretty good himself as his new company, Blue Origin, recently launched and landed a reusable rocket, making him a formidable competitor in the private space race.
Either way, Blue Origin made for a humorous quip to put Trump back in his place:
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The hashtag — excuse the pun — took off:
Perhaps the most stinging part of Bezos' burn is that Bezos bested Trump at his own game: While Trump has been praised for his keen social media sense and thousands of tweets and followers, Bezos had only tweeted four times since he joined Twitter in 2008.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.