Trump made no secret of his intense loathing and jealousy of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post, in his hate-filled 2016 campaign rallies. Most folks thought those were just idle threats made by a ranting lunatic. Most folks didn't think the forces of Heaven and Earth would put this man in power.
Trump wants his base to believe that the USPS's relationship with Amazon is just an unholy alliance that exclusively benefits Bezos over the already crippled US Postal Service. The ethically dubious Donald Trump is suddenly against the monopolistic tendencies of unrestrained capitalism? Likely story. This is obviously personal.
The merits and veracity Trump’s arguments about Amazon are dubious — there’s no evidence the Post’s journalism is some sort of secret weapon for Amazon, its tax situation depends on who’s selling, and as Vox’s Jen Kirby recently explained, the US Postal Service’s problems extend far beyond Amazon, which, as far as money goes, could actually be a bright spot for it. Amazon uses the post office for the “last mile” of its shipments, meaning to get a package from the post office to its final destination. The details of its contract with the Postal Service are not public.
Those with media bona fides are starting to notice yet another trend towards autocracy. They certainly did not predict that a silent GOP would allow this wannabe dictator to use 'the levers of the state' to punish his enemies. If the GOP is not voted out of power, this could easily become the new normal.
The AM Joy panel explains how this attempt to control Amazon's fate, however futile it will likely be, could start a trend towards state-owned control of private businesses. The GOP and its leader don't seem too concerned that they no longer worship the free market, which is quite alarming. The NY Daily News explains:
...Trump wants to quash Amazon's relationship with the Postal Service, saying it effectively subsidizes the e-commerce giant.
Trump privately pushed postmaster general Megan Brennan to double the rates it charges Amazon.com and other companies to ship packages — a move that would likely cost them billions of dollars, according to The Washington Post.
The details of Amazon's agreement with the Postal Service are private, and the contract must be reviewed by a regulatory commission before changes to it can be made.
Brennan argues that the current contract is beneficial to the Postal Service, according to the report.
The GOP wants nothing more than to privatize everything, including the Post Office, thereby destroying one of our best institutions of government (and one that is constitutionally-mandated that they protect). Trump is destroying all functioning arms of democracy and democratic norms at breakneck speed. The panel makes a very effective analogy, citing "The Handmaid's Tale," whose protagonists suddenly wonder how they arrived at their dystopian nightmare. Kurt Bardella, a former Breitbart Republican-turned-Democrat, once had the misperception that such a thing existed as compassionate conservatism. Not only is there no compassion, there is no patriotism, only blind allegiance to the hypocritical Republican Party.
This cautionary tale should warn us that this could happen in our own fragile Democracy. Americans have never had a 'president' so enamored with dictatorial rule, armed with a party who controls all branches of government. The Republicans are now emboldened to show their true fascist colors in broad daylight.
