Displaying items by tag: Trump

(Washington)

The public spat between the president and the former director of the FBI went very public yesterday as a Comey interview about his firing was aired on national television last night. In the interview, Comey called Trump morally unfit to be president and said that Russia may be holding something over Trump that is affecting his behavior. Comey would not say whether he thought Trump firing him amounted to obstruction of justice, saying that would be up to investigators to decide. Trump fired back at Comey through a series of tweets.

FINSUM: Hard to say if this spat will amount to anything, but one thing is clear—it will not lessen the pressure Trump is under in regards to this investigation.

(Washington)

The standoff between the president and special counsel Robert Mueller is heating up once again. On Monday, federal agents raided the offices of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, which Trump vehemently protested in the media. This has led to speculation Trump may now move to fire Mueller. In response, the White House officially said yesterday that they felt doing so was within the president’s authority. GOP lawmakers have warned Trump not to do so, but say they will not protect Mueller.

FINSUM: Whether or not Trump is allowed to fire Mueller, we think it would cause an unprecedented political firestorm if he were to do so. Just look at what happened to Nixon after he fired a special counsel.

(Washington)

The back and forth on the burgeoning trade war with China is getting exhausting and confusing. Only a day after US officials tried to clam down the situation by saying that a trade war would be avoided, President Trump announced a further $100bn of proposed tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump explained his response to China’s hike in tariffs on US goods this way, saying “Rather than remedy its misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers … In light of China’s unfair retaliation, I have instructed the [US Trade Representative] to consider whether $100bn of additional tariffs would be appropriate . . . and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such tariffs”.

FINSUM: So we understand why the US wants to raise tariffs, but at the same time, it is hard to root for a trade war which seems like it will hurt all involved.

(Washington)

The Wall Street Journal says that the source of Donald Trump’s push to regulate Amazon has nothing to do with tech industry issues or the Post Office. They say it is personal. In particular, the WSJ contends that Trump’s anger is personally directed toward Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, a publication with which there is mutual ire with Trump. The president dislikes the Post’s coverage of him, so he attacking Amazon as a proxy, says the WSJ.

FINSUM: If you are in investor in Amazon, then this is likely good news, as Trump’s ire might just be hot air that doesn’t materialize into any new rules.

(Washington)

The market is increasingly worried about a big regulatory push against the tech industry. Amazon, along with Facebook, are dead center in the bullseye of the push. However, Bloomberg tells investors not to be too worried. The reason why is that according to five sources inside the White House, there are no active discussions or planning about any regulation that would impact the ecommerce retailer. Even in the case of the Post Office, which Trump has focused on, rates are set by a commission, and the organization is legally barred from charging any shipper less than its cost of delivery, meaning Amazon can’t be underpaying.

FINSUM: This is quite relieving if you are an Amazon investor. However, beyond any immediate threats, we do agree that the government is going to have to reconsider anti-trust regulation in light of how data is being used an abused by large tech companies.