White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Amazon was taking “hostile political action” by displaying the cost of tariffs next to the price of items.
Amazon on Tuesday denied a report that the e-commerce giant would soon display how much President Donald Trump’s tariffs will add to the cost of each item for sale on its site after the White House called the reported move a “hostile and political act.”
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” an Amazon spokesperson told Fox Business in a statement. “This was never approved and is not going to happen.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took the question from a reporter during an earlier press briefing alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding a report in Punchbowl News said Amazon would be showing how much of an item’s cost is derived from Trump’s tariffs next to the total listed price of each product on its website for consumers.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” Leavitt said. “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol before the luncheon on the inauguration day of President Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters Photos)
Leavitt then appeared to cite a 2021 Reuters article with the headline “Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm.” The article reported that Amazon complied with an edict from China to stop allowing customer ratings and reviews in China.
“And I would also add that it’s not a surprise, because Reuters recently wrote, ‘Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm,’” Leavitt said while holding up a printed version of what appeared to be the Reuters article. “So this is another reason why Americans should buy American, it’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing here.”
President Donald Trump talks to reporters after inspecting the North Lawn with members of the White House grounds crew on April 23 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
When asked whether Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest man behind Elon Musk, was still a supporter of Trump, Leavitt sidestepped the question.
“I will not speak to the president’s relationship with Jeff Bezos but I will tell you that this is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon,” she said.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News that Trump called Bezos on Tuesday morning to complain about the company’s plans to display the impact of tariffs on product prices on its website.
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Trump and Bezos appear to be on better terms during Trump’s second term in the White House, according to the president’s interviews in recent months.
Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron joined ‘MediaBuzz’ to discuss why he is ‘disgusted’ with Bezos’ new mandate and why the move has garnered backlash at the publication.
Last month, Trump spoke positively about Bezos in interviews with the media, including OutKick’s Clay Travis, and said he was optimistic about his working relationship with the Amazon founder.
“(Bezos is) a good guy,” Trump said. “I didn’t really know him in the first term. I mean, it’s such a difference between now and the first time.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 187.39 | -0.31 | -0.17% |
Bezos also owns the Washington Post and announced in February that the outlet would be changing the content of its opinion pages, a move that Trump has praised.
Trump also spoke of Bezos during an interview with The Atlantic published on Monday.
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“He’s 100 percent. He’s been great,” the president said of Bezos.
Fox News Digital’s Jacqui Heinrich, Hanna Panreck and Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.