Jeff Bezos Expresses Optimism About Trump's Second Term and Sends Him a Message

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, recently expressed a positive outlook regarding Donald Trump's upcoming second term during his appearance at the DealBook Summit. He also delivered a direct message to the president-elect: “The press is not the enemy.” Previously, Bezos had a strained relationship with Trump, making his expression of enthusiasm for the potential reforms under the new Republican administration quite surprising.

“I am very optimistic this time,” Bezos stated on stage at the event hosted by The New York Times. Highlighting the administration's focus on reducing regulations, he added, “If I can help make it happen, I will.” The billionaire voiced his concern about what he believes to be an overabundance of regulations in the United States, suggesting that Trump's deregulatory policies could benefit the economy and companies like Amazon.

Message to Trump: “The Press Is Not the Enemy”

During the interview, Bezos made an effort to distance himself from previous tensions between Trump and The Washington Post. In the past, the now president-elect frequently accused the newspaper of spreading fake news and maintaining a bias against his administration. In a conciliatory tone, Bezos stated, “I will try to persuade him not to think of the press as the enemy.” He also implied that both sides might have evolved after years of conflict, emphasizing, “You probably have grown over the last eight years. So has he. This is not the case. The press is not the enemy.”

Another significant topic of the interview was Bezos's relationship with Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, who is involved in key projects for the upcoming administration. Bezos, who owns Blue Origin, a direct competitor of SpaceX, expressed his trust that Musk would not misuse his influence to harm other industry players. “I do not expect Elon to abuse his power. I hope he remains fair,” Bezos remarked.

Past Tensions Between Trump and Bezos

The relationship between these two magnates has historically been fraught with difficulties. During Trump's first term, he accused Amazon of paying little to no state and local taxes and criticized the company for allegedly using the U.S. Postal Service as a delivery service, which he claimed caused “tremendous losses.” The conflict further escalated when Amazon lost a $10 billion contract with the Pentagon, which the company attributed to perceived presidential bias.

In an effort to ease hostilities, Bezos refrained from having The Washington Post endorse candidates during the 2020 presidential elections, breaking a tradition that dated back to 1976. In an opinion piece, he explained that editorial endorsements “create a perception of bias at a time when many Americans do not trust the media.”

Silicon Valley and Trump's Administration

Bezos's optimism is not an isolated sentiment. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has also shown signs of warming relations with the president-elect. Meta recently acknowledged that it may have “overstepped a bit” in content moderation during the pandemic, which has been seen as a gesture towards Trump, who accused the company of censoring conservative voices. Zuckerberg even met with Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago on November 27, an encounter his spokesperson described as “a significant moment for the future of American innovation.”