Amazon takes a hit on back of Trump clampdown report

Amazon shares plunged today, wiping about $53.6 billion from its market value, following a report that US President Donald Trump wants to go after the e-commerce giant.

According to an article on the Axios website, citing five different sources, whilst Capitol Hill is gunning for Facebook, Trump isn’t interested and is instead obsessed with Amazon. “Trump has talked about changing the company’s tax treatment because he’s worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business,” its report states. “A source who’s spoken to POTUS says: ‘He’s wondered aloud if there may be any way to go after Amazon with antitrust or competition law’…Trump's wealthy friends tell him Amazon is destroying their businesses. His real estate buddies tell him - and he agrees - that Amazon is killing shopping malls and bricks and mortar retailers.”

Trump has hit out at the company before, via his Twitter account. Last year, he tweeted, "Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the US are being hurt - many jobs being lost!" And he has also slammed The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, labelling it the Amazon Washington Post.