A Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit is attempting to catch President Trump’s eye with a new ad campaign that aims to deter the Pentagon from awarding a multibillion contract to Amazon.
The group, Less Government, took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Post addressed to Trump and signed by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of the Washington Post.
Bezos and the Washington Post are frequently the subject of Trump’s ire.
“President Trump: Your Defense Department is set to award a no-bid, ten-year contract for all its IT infrastructure to Administration-enemy Jeff Bezos’ Amazon,” the ad states.
It includes a photo of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Bezos, along with a fake letter to Trump from the Amazon founder.
“Mr. President, Thank you for the $100 billion handout. The cash will really help my many efforts to oppose your Administration’s policies. Your pal, Jeff,” the faux note on the ad reads.
The ad then directs people to MonopolyAmazon.com, a new website that warns visitors “Bezos’ Amazon is about to become one of the nation’s biggest recipients of U.S. government contract dollars.”
Full page ad in the New York Post. Bezos has smart enemies. pic.twitter.com/eilLlnG3Bh
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) March 27, 2018
The Defense Department issued this month a draft request for proposals for a cloud-services contract that is expected to be worth several billion dollars. Some fear the single-source contract will favor Amazon, which is believed to be the frontrunner, and the company’s competitors were pushing for a multi-party contract that would allow the Pentagon to use cloud-computing services from several companies.
Less Government is expected to spend “tens of thousands” on the ad campaign, which will continue into April, according to Politico.
