• President Trump attacked Amazon first thing Wednesday morning, tweeting the company was doing 'great damage' to tax paying retailers and costing jobs 

• He sent the stock price plunging, wiping more than $5 billion off its value and $1 billion off the person worth of owner Jeff Bezos 

• Trump's attack on the company was likely in response to Bezos' newspaper, the Washington Post, strongly condemning the president

• The Post's editorial board wrote after Trump's press conference Tuesday that it marked a 'great day for David Duke and racists everywhere'  

Donald Trump wiped up to $5.7 billion off the value of Amazon Wednesday after tweeting an attack accusing the web retailing giant of tax-dodging.

 'Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt - many jobs being lost!' Trump tweeted at 6:12 a.m. EST. 

It sent the price of Amazon stock plunging on Wall Street. It had closed Tuesday at $982.74 a share, but as soon as trading began after the tweet, it fell to a low of $974.27 - a paper loss of $5.7 billion. 

Although it recovered some of that value, it did not get back to the pre-tweet price amid concern that Trump's White House could bring anti-trust or other regulatory action against the web's largest retailer.

While the president didn't call out Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos by name, nor did he point a finger at Bezos' newspaper, the Washington Post, Trump was likely riled by the Post's op-ed board proclaiming that 'Tuesday was a great day for David Duke and racists everywhere,' in reaction to the president's comments on Charlottesville made yesterday from Trump Tower. 

The paper loss for Bezo's net worth was just under $1 billion. 

Fall: Amazon opened severely down on the previous days's share price and traded sluggishly after Trump's tweet

President Trump devoted his first Wednesday morning tweet to attacking online retailer Amazon, saying the internet powerhouse was hurting 'tax paying retailers' and costing American jobs 

President Trump went after Amazon, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, which criticized Trump's comments on Tuesday saying it was 'a great day for David Duke and racists everywhere' 

Despite President Trump's (left) criticism of Amazon, CEO Jeff Bezos has played ball with the administration, showing up for this particular White House meeting on June 19 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (right) has continued to play nice with administration figures, hosting just last week President Trump's Secretary of Defense James Mattis (left) 

With Trump asserting that some of the 'alt-left' protesters, rallying against white supremacists, neo-Nazis and KKK members, deserved blame for the violence that occurred too, he was widely rebuked by members of his own party and scribes from numerous media outlets, including the Post. 

'That car in Charlottesville did not kill or wound just the 20 bodies it struck. It damaged the nation,' the Post's editorial board wrote, referencing 32-year-old Heather Heyer, mowed down and murdered by a Nazi sympathizer, and being mourned publicly today.

'Mr. Trump not only failed to help the country heal; he made the wound wider and deeper,' the journalists wrote. 

Wednesday didn't mark the first time Trump attacked Bezos' primary mode of business, that trend started when the Republican was still on the campaign trail. 

Additionally, in June, he lashed out against Amazon's business practices, while also more clearly linking it to his grudge against the Post.   

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