Donald Trump’s obsession with Amazon—which he has targeted because its founder, Jeff Bezos, owns the Washington Post—has led him to demand that the U.S. Postal Service double the rates it charges Amazon and other companies for shipping packages. Trump made the demand in secret meetings with Postmaster General Megan Brennan:
Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission, the three people said. She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.
There’s actually an argument that the Postal Service should charge more for packages—but that’s not what’s on Trump’s mind here. He just hates Amazon because he hates a newspaper that has reported on his lies and corruption. If Trump was concerned with the solvency of the Postal Service, he could push for postal banking. Or for your local post office to be allowed to provide notary public services, hunting and fishing licenses, and copy and fax services. Or to provide online bill-paying services. Or allow it to ship alcohol.
The fixes to the Postal Service’s financial struggles are not mysterious—in fact, all they require is taking down some of the barriers Congress has erected against postal competitiveness.
Trump, though, is much more interested in his own petty beefs.