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Jeff Bezos just showed everyone how to dance with Donald Trump. Their Tuesday tango started with threats and ended with compliments - all before dinner time.
The drama kicked off when Punchbowl News reported Amazon planned to display tariff costs on product pages. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pounced, calling it "hostile and political." She brandished a 2021 article linking Amazon to Chinese propaganda, just to twist the knife.
But Bezos, who's been courting Trump lately, moved fast. After a phone call between the two men, Amazon rushed out denials. The company claimed it merely discussed the idea for Amazon Haul, its budget shopping site competing with Chinese retailer Temu.
By afternoon, Trump had changed his tune completely. "Jeff Bezos is very nice," he told reporters heading to Michigan. "He solved the problem very quickly. Good guy."
The episode reveals the delicate balance billionaires strike with Trump. Bezos has worked hard to get in Trump's good graces - donating $1 million to the inauguration, adding "The Apprentice" to Prime, even squashing a Washington Post endorsement of Kamala Harris.
The charm offensive seemed to work. Just Monday, Trump praised Bezos in The Atlantic as "100 percent...great." But Tuesday's clash showed how quickly that warmth can chill when business interests clash with political messaging.
Amazon's backpedaling proved especially striking given Bezos' recent praise for Trump's "calmer" demeanor and pledge to cut regulations. At December's DealBook Summit, Bezos painted Trump as a changed man, more "confident" and "settled" than in his first term.
The spat hints at deeper tensions as Trump pushes aggressive tariffs on Chinese goods. Amazon relies heavily on Chinese manufacturing, both for its own products and third-party sellers. A 145% tariff could devastate its discount strategy.
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Marcus Schuler
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