Amazon's top spokesman says his attacks against the Trump administration were his 'personal views' after Donald Trump Jr. calls him out on Twitter
- Amazon's top spokesman, Jay Carney, criticized the Trump administration during the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Wednesday.
- President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., hit back at Carney on Twitter Thursday and asked whether it's Amazon's "official corporate position that the the thousands of Americans who work in the Trump Administration aren't 'patriots.'"
- Carney tweeted Thursday that his remarks at the summit were his "personal views" and that he has "enormous faith" in the "countless patriots" throughout the US government.
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Amazon spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration, saying he questioned its patriotism and honesty.
Carney was formerly Barack Obama's press secretary and before that, he covered the previous two presidential administrations as a political reporter.
"Virtually with no exception, everyone I dealt with in those administrations, whether I personally agreed or disagreed with what they thought were the right policy decisions or the right way to approach things, I never doubted that they were patriots. I never doubted that they believed they were doing things that were in the best interest of the country," Carney, who is Amazon's top spokesman, said on stage during the GeekWire Summit in Seattle. "I don't feel that way now."
He also slammed the Trump administration's standards around honesty.
"I never lied," he said, referring to his time at the White House. "When you can't answer something or you don't have a good answer to give, you say, 'I'll take that question' or 'I don't have an answer for you.' You don't lie. And there doesn't seem to be that standard today."
President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., hit back at Carney on Thursday, tweeting, "Hey @amazon- So is it your companies [sic] official corporate position that the the thousands of Americans who work in the Trump Administration aren't 'patriots' because that's what your top spokesman (and former Obama hack) @JayCarney just said???"
Within an hour, Carney posted a tweet to his personal account that appeared to respond to Donald Trump Jr.'s inquiry.
Carney tweeted that his remarks Wednesday were his "personal views" and that he has "enormous faith" in the "countless patriots" throughout the US government.
President Trump has been a frequent critic of Amazon.
Trump has accused the tech giant of not paying enough taxes, abusing its relationship with the US Postal Service, and putting "many thousands of retailers out of business."
Trump also frequently accuses Amazon of influencing news coverage through the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and he once referred to Bezos as "Jeff Bozo."
