'Hostile and political': Why's the White House at war with Amazon?
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Amazon's decision to display tariff-related price increases to shoppers has been condemned as a "hostile and political act" by the White House.
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In brief:
- Amazon plans to show consumers price increases resulting from Trump's tariffs, which the White House Press Secretary called a "hostile and political act" and claimed Amazon "partnered with Chinese propaganda."
- Despite Bezos previously currying favour with Trump by blocking Washington Post's endorsement of Harris and donating $1 million to Trump's inauguration, this move by Amazon has seemingly created tension.
- The News Agents suggest this could be a "tipping point" as Amazon's transparency about tariff costs might influence even MAGA supporters when they see the direct price impact of Trump's policies during their online shopping.
What’s the story?
Last time we checked Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos were best friends, with the Amazon owner given a front row seat at the President’s inauguration in January.
But as with many of Donald Trump’s relationships, the tides can always turn.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has called Amazon’s plans to show consumers the price increases on products as a result of Trump’s tariffs a “hostile and political act”.
“Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm,” Leavitt said, after claiming she had discussed the development with the President on the phone. She cited a 2021 Reuters article during the press conference to support her claim.
Trump has imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, with a 10% tariff on the majority of other countries. US companies who import goods from foreign countries will have to fork out for the price increase - and it’s thought most will pass the price increases on to their customers.
For example, a product from China that used to cost $10 will now cost $24.50 because of the 145% tariff imposed. Amazon will highlight price increases as a result of such tariffs on their product pages.
Bezos and Trump have a rocky history, but the billionaire businessman was in Trump’s good books after he blocked The Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing Kamala Harris during the election campaign, opting for the paper to stay neutral.
It was later revealed that Bezos donated $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund after his win, which might be why he and his fiance received prime seats to the event.
Why is The White House at war with Amazon?
What’s The News Agents’ take?
“Why is Amazon the villain for making the hidden tax visible, but not the government that imposed it?” Emily Maitlis asks.
And Jon Sopel agrees that highlighting why prices have hiked significantly on the website is a “reasonable” thing to do.
“But obviously, in Donald Trump's world, that is an act of treachery - and so Bezos' best efforts to get on side with Trump look like they've hit a bit of a roadblock.,” Jon says.
Emily thinks this could be a “tipping point” for Trump - if he starts to lose the backing of Bezos, who is caught between keeping things sweet with the president and telling customers exactly what’s going on.
“I just think this is one of those interesting moments where Amazon has got a lot of power with the American consumer,” she says.
That power - and those price hikes - leaves Emily inclined to think that even the most stringent MAGA believers could have a change of heart once they see in black and white what Trump has done to the price of ordinary goods as they go about their regular Amazon purchases.
“I wonder how long before that starts to filter through.”
“Leavitt's response speaks to Trump's bigger plan, which is, ‘well, if we had more manufacturing in America, if we had more onshoring, if we didn't have to depend on China to buy our goods, wouldn't that be a better place to be?’
“Lots of Americans might agree with that in theory, but actually, that's a world away from clicking a button which has got another price tag on it because of the direct actions your own government's taken.”
Will Bezos fold under White House pressure and reverse the policy? The tides can always turn - again.
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
