The Atlantic

Why Big Business Isn't Defending Amazon Against Trump

Many of the administration’s policies have been favorable to corporate America. The tradeoff? A president committed to publicly stoning companies that cross him.
Source: Bettmann / Getty Images

In big, bold letters, the homepage of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s website describes the organization’s mission: “Standing up for American Enterprise.”

But the huge business federation—like its counterparts, the Business Roundtable and other major corporate lobbies—was conspicuously silent when Donald Trump launched a salvo of tweets earlier this week accusing Amazon of dodging taxes, bilking the U.S. Postal Service, and undermining Main Street retailers. The assault, which wasn’t Trump’s first on the company, sent Amazon’s stock tumbling and precipitated a broader decline in the stock market on Monday—particularly in technology stocks—before it rebounded on Tuesday.

Finally, the

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