In one of the stranger headline twists in recent memory, Donald Trump seems to be picking a fight with Amazon CEO and Washington Post Co-Owner Jeff Bezos.
“I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought The Washington Post to have political influence. And I gotta tell you, we have a different country than we used to have,” Trump said during a speech in Texas on Friday (Feb. 26). “He wants political influence so that Amazon will benefit from it. That’s not right. And believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems. They’re going to have such problems.”
The Donald’s main objection to The Bezos seems to hinge on Washington Post‘s coverage of the campaign, which has not overly impressed Team Trump with its fairness.
“When they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” he said later in the same speech.
This is the second coming of this particular beef. In December, Trump tweeted that Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post was a means to use the struggling paper to shave dollars from Amazon’s tax bill. An interesting theory but wrong, as Amazon is owned by Bezos’ personal investment firm, a totally separate entity from Amazon. At the time, Bezos offered Trump a free ride into space, care of Blue Origin.
As for the latest round of Trump haterade?
Amazon had no immediate response.