Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Slams Donald Trump: ‘Not An Appropriate Way For A Presidential Candidate To Behave’
Jeff Bezos slammed Donald Trump over comments that he made about the founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post’s business practices, according to the Associated Press.
Bezos’ comments on Trump came at a technology conference, where he said that the GOP presumptive nominee’s comments were “not an appropriate way for a presidential candidate to behave.”
Bezos also said that “it’s critical that we be able to carefully examine our leaders.” He was likely referring to recent comments Trump made, where he accused Bezos of “using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed.”
Trump had tweeted a similar criticism of Bezos back in December.
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
Jeff Bezos says Donald Trump's criticism of him, newspaper is 'not an appropriate way for a candidate to behave.' https://t.co/O2gX5khIqB
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 19, 2016
Bezos added that he is “very, very comfortable” about how Amazon is run as a business.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos slams Trump over anti-trust accusations: https://t.co/YoJJsrCzXO pic.twitter.com/FFvBpzcysq
— The Hill (@thehill) May 18, 2016
The Associated Press also reported that the executive editor of the Washington Post said that he has “received no instructions from Jeff Bezos” about how to cover the 2016 presidential campaign. Bezos purchased the Post in October 2013 for $250 million.
Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post Hired 20 Reporters To Cover Donald Trump
The feud between Trump and Bezos came after it was announced that the Post hired 20 new reporters to cover the former reality TV star. Bob Woodward, the longtime Post reporter, was asked about this on the May 15 broadcast of Fox News Sunday.
“That’s correct,” Woodward said. “We announced a month ago that we’re doing a book, and we’re doing stories,” but that “we’ll be doing an equivalent effort on Hillary Clinton. It’s traditional, and I think particularly in this campaign, which is one of those pivot points in the history of the country. We need to tell people everything we can find out. That means a massive effort.”
Host Chris Wallace asked Woodward if 20 reporters would also be covering Clinton.
“Well, it’s not necessarily the number of people,” Woodward replied. “It’s who’s working on it.”
“Believe me, the goal here is the best obtainable version of the truth. You can’t find out everything, and biography is character.”
Woodward also suggested that the Post will do “a full excavation” of Clinton’s time as secretary of state and senator. He noted Trump had said there were “500 entities in his tax returns, so lots of work needs to be done.”
Brit Hume said he found the Post’s journalistic probes into Donald Trump “legitimate,” but was skeptical about whether they would do the same with Clinton.
“You can’t do these things in an afternoon or a week,” Woodward responded. “You have to find people who are knowledgeable… ideally people who have records and notes.”
Woodward recalled how “Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post,” told the editor of the Washington Post, “You will have the resources to do this on both candidates, final nominees. It must be aggressive, fair, and bipartisan.”
What do you think? Is the Washington Post covering Donald Trump fairly? Do you believe Trump’s comments about Jeff Bezos, Amazon, and the Washington Post were appropriate?
[Photo by Jeff Raedle/Getty Images]
