# Trump attacking Amazon **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 1, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583 "2018-04-01T13:30:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/41 "2018-04-02T16:35:20Z")
I see one of the drive-by trolls just showed up. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/42 "2018-04-02T16:51:52Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/43 "2018-04-02T16:52:05Z")
Bah. This isn’t about Trump’s ego or some bullshit feud with Bezos. That’s tabloid thinking. This is about Trump’s embracing of populism. He scored big gains from his base with his tariffs, infrastructure plan, etc. Amazon is anti-populist. It’s the big faceless company destroying mom-and-pop businesses. It’s the bogeyman that’s responsible for the decline of malls and the hollowing out of shopping districts. It takes good local jobs in small towns and cities and moves them to giant corporate headquarters in big cities. And so it goes. Like all good populists, Trump needs public enemies to blame. Amazon is perfect for that in his mind. Ten years ago it would have been Wal-Mart, for the same reason. But Wal-Mart hatred is SO 2000’s…The problem he is going to have, though, is that unlike facebook, Amazon delivers real products to people, and it does it faster and cheaper than anyone else. So any ‘crackdown’ is going to have real consequences for people. These used to be Democratic talking points back when the Democrats actually worked for the blue collar working vote instead of going all-in on identity politics and pleasing their coastal bases. And back then, Trump was a Democrat. This is who he is - a protectionist, populist leader who in his fever dreams styles himelf a fighter for the little guy, the common worker. You know, the guys he habitually screwed over when building stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/44 "2018-04-02T16:54:58Z")
The postal service entered into the agreement with Amazon voluntarily, and its head is on record ad saying that the deal was very good for the USPS. When you are mandated to deliver to every postsl station, the more volume you can pick up, the better. Amazon has been a boon to the USPS. As usual, Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/45 "2018-04-02T16:57:58Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Bah. This isn’t about Trump’s ego or some bullshit feud with Bezos. That’s tabloid thinking. Who needs tabloids when we have the StraightDope Message Board! 😛 You get all the salacious details and none of the adverts here. More flavor, less filling, etc. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/46 "2018-04-02T16:59:41Z")
Wal Mart wiped out lots of small businesses , where are Trumps tweets on that company? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/47 "2018-04-02T17:01:33Z")
Wall Mart buys real estate and builds buildings. They’re real entrepreneurs in Trump World, because Trump likes people who do real estate deals. Effect on jobs and local businesses is irrelevant as long as they do the bricks and mortar thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/48 "2018-04-02T17:04:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Bah. This isn’t about Trump’s ego or some bullshit feud with Bezos. That’s tabloid thinking. > > This is about Trump’s embracing of populism. He scored big gains from his base with his tariffs, infrastructure plan, etc. Amazon is anti-populist. It’s the big faceless company destroying mom-and-pop businesses. It’s the bogeyman that’s responsible for the decline of malls and the hollowing out of shopping districts. It takes good local jobs in small towns and cities and moves them to giant corporate headquarters in big cities. And so it goes. > > Like all good populists, Trump needs public enemies to blame. Amazon is perfect for that in his mind. Ten years ago it would have been Wal-Mart, for the same reason. But Wal-Mart hatred is SO 2000’s…The problem he is going to have, though, is that unlike facebook, Amazon delivers real products to people, and it does it faster and cheaper than anyone else. So any ‘crackdown’ is going to have real consequences for people. > > These used to be Democratic talking points back when the Democrats actually worked for the blue collar working vote instead of going all-in on identity politics and pleasing their coastal bases. And back then, Trump was a Democrat. > > This is who he is - a protectionist, populist leader who in his fever dreams styles himelf a fighter for the little guy, the common worker. > > You know, the guys he habitually screwed over when building stuff. This is Trump we’re talking about. The man who probably had prostitutes pee on a bed that the Obamas once slept in. His thought process is no more complicated than: Bezos own paper. Paper investigate me, paper bad. Me crush Bezos. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/49 "2018-04-02T17:07:11Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > This isn’t about Trump’s ego You will never convince me, in any thread about Trump, that this is a true statement. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/50 "2018-04-02T17:17:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > This is Trump we’re talking about. The man who probably had prostitutes pee on a bed that the Obamas once slept in. His thought process is no more complicated than: > > Bezos own paper. Paper investigate me, paper bad. Me crush Bezos. Oh, come on. It’s possible to dislike Trump on many levels without being ridiculous. Trump isn’t a drooling vegetable. His IQ is certainly above average. He’s a lazy, undisciplined thinker who thinks in sound bites and considers Fox and Friends a source for good political insight. He has no principles, which makes him a good populist. But seriously, you can’t deny that the man has skills. He knows what buttons to push. He knows how to work a room. He is apparently very charismatic in person when he wants to be. He had a popular TV show that lasted for a long time. He built a ‘persona’ for himself as a brilliant businessman who makes great deals, despite all real-world evidence to the contrary. And he leveraged that into the Presidency, against all odds. These are dangerous skills, just as populism is a dangerous governing philosophy. But they ARE skills, and they take some intelligence to pull off. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/51 "2018-04-02T17:18:10Z")
[From last October](http://fortune.com/2017/10/17/amazon-donald-trump-net-worth-forbes/): > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump’s net worth declined by more than $600 million in the past year, according to the Forbes 400 List of the richest people in America… Trump’s real estate holdings, specifically those in New York City, have taken a big hit in the past year, as retail values are struggling in response to Amazon’s e-commerce gains… > > The loss has him moving from 156th on the list down to 248th… “Values of several Manhattan properties, particularly those on or near Fifth Avenue, have dropped, shaving nearly $400 million off his fortune,” the magazine says… > > It would appear that Amazon’s strategy of e-commerce over brick and mortar retail is winning, and that is having an effect on real estate values, she added… > > Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, took the number two spot on the Forbes list for the second straight year, with an $81.5 billion net worth. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/52 "2018-04-02T17:23:06Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Oh, come on. It’s possible to dislike Trump on many levels without being ridiculous. Trump isn’t a drooling vegetable. His IQ is certainly above average. He’s a lazy, undisciplined thinker who thinks in sound bites and considers Fox and Friends a source for good political insight. He has no principles, which makes him a good populist. > > But seriously, you can’t deny that the man has skills. He knows what buttons to push. He knows how to work a room. He is apparently very charismatic in person when he wants to be. He had a popular TV show that lasted for a long time. He built a ‘persona’ for himself as a brilliant businessman who makes great deals, despite all real-world evidence to the contrary. And he leveraged that into the Presidency, against all odds. > > These are dangerous skills, just as populism is a dangerous governing philosophy. But they ARE skills, and they take some intelligence to pull off. It may be somewhat less primitive than I put it, but that’s the basic motivation. Trump is all id and no superego. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/53 "2018-04-02T17:32:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > This is Trump we’re talking about. The man who probably had prostitutes pee on a bed that the Obamas once slept in. … You think “probably” is the best way to describe that story? ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/54 "2018-04-02T17:38:52Z")
I believe the USPS outlived it’s usefulness to anyone except the bloated bureaucracy and union that’s kept it going about 10 years ago. It’s a transpo/logistics relic from the cold war era. Instead of using tech/online to streamline and add value, their minimal forays into those advancements turned out to be more of an expense in maintaining systems they cannot effectively manage. Postal workers (like truck drivers and a long list of other jobs destined to become extinct) should start figuring out what they might be willing to accept in terms of being fairly dealt with over the inevitable upcoming transition period. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/55 "2018-04-02T18:18:02Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > start figuring out what they might be willing to accept in terms of being fairly dealt with Hokay. I think they’d be fine with having their pensions prepaid for a reasonable 10-20 year period rather than the 75-year period the Republicans dreamed up to sabotage the USPS. Since that step would take care of the cashflow problems, no need to speculate about adjustments elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/56 "2018-04-02T18:21:07Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I would guess that even with the Trump Organization’s anti-union activities, Trump treats his employees better on average than Bezos does. Unless you can cite a pattern of Bezos’ employees having their paychecks bounce or not getting them at all, this is an absurd claim. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/57 "2018-04-02T18:23:07Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You think “probably” is the best way to describe that story? Does “almost certainly” sound better? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/58 "2018-04-02T18:25:51Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You think “probably” is the best way to describe that story? With Trump? Absobloodylutely. I put no demeaning or petty act past him. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/59 "2018-04-02T18:26:22Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Don’t overcomplicate things, people. > > The USPS workers have a fairly strong union. They have a Political Action Committee - APWU PAC - that spends more than $1,000,000 per election cycle on political donations and activities. [82% of that spending in the last cycle](https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00010322) went toward Democratic Party candidates and issues. > > There doesn’t need to be more of an argument than that. However it may have started out - possibly basic anti-union activities - the Republican Party and the APWU PAC are now blood enemies. Or, to break it down to a more fundamental level, a major employer who provides decent pay and benefits poses a problem to a party that would prefer to push the middle class down the road to serfdom so that its wealthy patrons can have a world of cheap labor that has to put up with whatever the patrons care to dish out. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583/60 "2018-04-02T18:36:54Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > I see one of the drive-by trolls just showed up. :rolleyes: I’m going to toss you a warning, here, BeenJammin. It’s explicitly against the rules to refer to other posters as ‘trolls’. Please don’t do so again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-attacking-amazon/811583.md?page=4)