Welcome to the ‘Resistance,’ *squints* Jeff… Bezos?

So far this week, Karoline Leavitt suggested that the administration would be open to prosecuting Supreme Court justices and accused Amazon of mounting "hostile" political attacks against Trump.

By Kylie Cheung  |  April 29, 2025 | 12:24pm
Photo: Getty Images LatestPolitics
Welcome to the ‘Resistance,’ *squints* Jeff… Bezos?

Here we are, 100 days into the second Trump administration, and I regret to inform you all that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt marked the occasion with one of her characteristically unhinged press conferences. So far this week—as the walls appear to be caving in on perhaps the most clownishly incompetent presidency in modern history—Leavitt seems prepared to turn on the administration’s once-key allies, like Amazon and the Supreme Court, which includes six conservative justices.

On Tuesday, Punchbowl News reported that Amazon “doesn’t want to shoulder the blame for the cost of President Donald Trump’s trade war.” The report cites an anonymous source claiming the e-commerce giant would soon display “how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs—right next to the product’s total listed price.”

“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” Leavitt said, when a reporter asked if Amazon’s move wasn’t “a crystal clear demonstration that it’s the American consumer and not China who is going to have to pay for these policies.” This is all a pretty stark reversal given that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos attended Trump’s Inauguration in January and donated $1 million to Trump’s presidential transition fund. But Leavitt said she would “not speak” to their current relationship.

“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt added. Hmm… maybe because there wasn’t a singular, individual Biden policy that could be traced to a direct, 1:1 price increase, unlike Trump’s tariffs…?  Comically enough, the administration often touts itself as the most “transparent” in history.

In the wake of Leavitt’s threatening remarks, appearing to frame Amazon as a political enemy, the company has seemingly done a 180. The Washington Post reported shortly after Leavitt’s press conference that an Amazon spokesperson said the tariff-based price labels were never “under consideration” for the main Amazon website—only Amazon Haul, which considered listing import price duties on certain products. 

So… watch this space, I guess. Even if a truce appears to be in place, for now, battle lines have clearly been drawn: Trump’s tariffs are inflicting damage on both everyday people and even mega-corporations like Amazon; neither the Trump administration nor Bezos appear willing to shoulder blame or go down for this, which could force them to turn on each other sooner rather than later. This, obviously, isn’t going to be good for any of us—might be entertaining, though!

Less than 24 hours before this whole debacle, on Monday, Leavitt took a question from reporters about the case of a Wisconsin circuit judge who was arrested by Trump’s Department of Justice for “obstruction” because she allegedly pointed an immigrant towards an exit door, which doesn’t violate any laws. Would the Trump administration ever prosecute Supreme Court justices?

“You guys arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away,” Fox News’s Peter Doocy said. “As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court justice?”

“That’s a hypothetical question, again I defer you to the Department of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases… Anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their jobs is putting themselves [sic] at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely.” So: Yes, they would. 

Since taking office, Trump has defied court orders, including, most recently, a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling that he facilitate the return of a wrongly deported immigrant man sent to a notoriously brutal Salvadoran prison. Trump also has a long history of endangering and smearing any judges who rule against him as “activist judges.” Within the first 100 days of his presidency, eight immigration judges have been fired or put on leave. But Trump’s openness to jailing Supreme Court justices who “obstruct” his will feels especially chilling—six are conservative justices who have long been allies to him; three, Trump appointed himself. 

As we wade ever deeper into uncharted territory, there’s clearly no guardrails whatsoever and no one Trump won’t turn on.

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