Hostile and political act

‘This is a hostile and political act’: White House slams Amazon amid tariff standoff

Amazon is reportedly considering listing how much tariffs are adding to the price of items.

By Ben Johansen

The White House is taking aim at Amazon, calling the e-commerce giant’s reported plans to soon display how much tariffs are increasing prices next to products a “hostile and political” move.

“I just got off the phone with the president about this, about Amazon’s announcement. This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Tuesday. Punchbowl News reported Tuesday that Amazon is planning to soon display how much President Donald Trump’s tariffs are adding to each of its products’ prices.

Leavitt cited a 2021 report from Reuters on Amazon’s relationship with a “Chinese propaganda arm,” holding up a copy of the story with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ face front and center. She called it “another reason why Americans should buy American.”

When asked by a reporter what the status of Trump’s relationship is with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Leavitt largely dodged the question. “I will not speak to the president’s relationships with Jeff Bezos,” she said. “But I will tell you, this is certainly a hostile and political act by Amazon.”

Bezos declined to endorse either Trump or former Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential election. Weeks before the election, Bezos also blocked The Washington Post — which he owns — from endorsing either candidate, prompting sharp criticism and hundreds of thousands of readers to cancel their subscriptions with the paper. The Post’s editorial board was preparing to endorse Harris.

But he was among several billionaire tech CEOs who directed donations to Trump’s inauguration fund earlier this year, with Amazon contributing $1 million, and has since met with the president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. POLITICO has not independently confirmed Amazon’s reported plans to display tariff costs.

In an interview with The Atlantic last week, Trump seemed pleased with the tech titan. “He’s 100 percent,” Trump said of Bezos. “He’s been great.”

As Trump hits his 100th day in office, his administration’s tariff war on many allied countries, who he argues are not paying their fair share, has sent shockwaves through global markets. Trump has imposed and paused blanket 25 percent tariffs on America’s two bordering allies, Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent on virtually every other country importing into the U.S., with higher — and since-paused — tariffs on countries his administration has argued are bad actors.

Trump has also implemented dramatically high tariffs on China, in a tit-for-tat escalation with the country.

The White House has argued that Trump is close to deals with many countries to ease tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at Tuesday’s briefing that he thinks the administration is “very close” to a deal with India, as well as South Korea and Japan.

But the fallout is still being felt by consumers and markets. And in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney led the country’s Liberal Party to a historic win Monday after running a campaign largely focused on the effect of Trump’s provocations of the Northern ally.

Democrats soon latched on to Leavitt’s comments. “To fuck around is human, to find out is divine,” the Ways and Means Democrats’ X account wrote.