Everything Jeff Bezos Has Said About Donald Trump

Jeff Bezos has had strong feelings about Donald Trump ever since the reality TV star transitioned into politics. The Amazon founder has been very active in the past, although his actions typically haven't shown undying loyalty to either the democratic or republican parties. In 2012, he and his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott donated $2.5 million to a campaign that would help legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. In 2018, Bezos donated $10 million to With Honor, a PAC specializing in promoting military veterans in Congress. However, Honor is a very neutral political organization, adding further mystery to Bezos' political beliefs.

Bezos further expanded his political reach by buying The Washington Post in 2013, which he was initially hesitant about doing. However, it was his strong sense of justice that convinced him to make the purchase. "It is the newspaper in the capital city of the most important country in the world. The Washington Post has an incredibly important role to play in this democracy. There's no doubt in my mind about that," Bezos told Forbes in 2018.

All that to say, Bezos' opinion of Trump over the years seems to have been motivated by the founder's passion for democracy rather than any strict allegiance to one party. But have those opinions mainly been positive or negative?

Jeff Bezos became one of the main subjects of criticism from Donald Trump when he ran for office in 2016. The current president-elect felt that Amazon was unfairly avoiding being taxed by the government. To Trump, The Washington Post buyout was yet another con that helped Amazon absolve itself from its tax obligations. "He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed," Trump once told Fox News (via Time).

Trump partially ran his campaign on holding Amazon and Bezos accountable for their perceived financial crimes. Bezos, however, felt Trump's words and attitude weren't very presidential. "This is not an appropriate way for a presidential candidate to behave," Bezos said at a Washington Post video conference, per Forbes. "It erodes our free speech norms."

But Bezos might've taken more issue with the tone of Trump's accusations rather than the content of the president-elect's arguments. The Blue Origin founder asserted that he had no problem with others taking a closer look at his company. In fact, he welcomed the opportunity. "I'm very comfortable with Amazon's approaches and behaviors. I think a company like Amazon deserves to be scrutinized and criticized and examined," Bezos said.

Donald Trump has had an adversarial relationship with the media, to say the least. He's frequently called out members of the press for their perceived biases towards him, which he vowed to combat relentlessly when he first took office in 2016. "I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I have ever met, I have to tell you. I see the stories, and I see the way they're couched," he said at a June 2016 press conference per CNN. It's a sentiment that he carries about the media to this day.

However, to Jeff Bezos, Trump's constant admonishment of the media set a dangerous precedent that could hurt journalistic honesty in the long run. Not only that, but Bezos felt Trump's hostility only further threatened the concept of free speech. "It is a mistake for any elected official, in my opinion ... to attack media and journalists. I believe that it's an essential component of our democracy," Bezos once said in an interview at the Economic Club of Washington (via Politico).

Bezos suggested Trump take a more professional, temperamental approach to journalism while keeping an open mind towards their criticisms. "What the President should say is, 'This is right. This is good. I am glad I am getting scrutinized.' But it's really dangerous to demonize the media. It's dangerous to call the media lowlifes. It's dangerous to say they're the 'enemy of the people,'" Bezos said.

America's history almost shifted drastically when Donald Trump spoke at a rally on June 13, 2024. What was supposed to be a normal campaign event for his supporters in Pennsylvania turned into a harrowing experience when a shooter opened fire on Trump and the crowd. One supporter, a former fire chief by the name of Corey Comperatore, lost his life in the incident when trying to protect his family.

But although many of the shooter's bullets were meant for Trump, Trump managed to save his own life simply by turning his head at the last second. "The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount," Trump said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. "If I only half-turn, it hits the back of the brain. The other way goes right through [the skull]. And because the sign was high, I'm looking up. The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one-tenth of 1%, so I'm not supposed to be here."

In the midst of the shooting, Trump ducked for cover, surrounded by security. As his security escorted Trump out of the area, he raised his fist to his supporters and the American people with blood trickling from his ear. Despite his disagreements with Trump in the past, Jeff Bezos took notice of Trump's immediate reaction to the assassination attempt and gave credit where it was due. "Our former President showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight. So thankful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families," Bezos posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post stirred up further controversy when it was announced the prestigious publication wouldn't endorse Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election. The announcement came on October 25, 2024, just a few weeks before America would elect Donald Trump as Joe Biden's successor. Bezos' decision not to endorse any candidate — for the first time in decades — resulted in 200,000 Washington Post subscribers canceling their memberships and several editorial staff members resigning from their jobs. Additionally, the news also hurt the paper's reputation, as a growing consensus was that Bezos blocked the Harris endorsement for Trump's benefit.

Bezos, however, further defended his decision in an opinion piece he personally wrote for The Washington Post. He believed that he was actually maintaining the integrity of his newspaper by removing bias towards any political candidate. "What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it's the right one," he wrote.

If there was anything Bezos regretted about the block, it was the timing. He conceded that it might've been a mistake to change the paper's policies so close to the 2024 presidential election. It didn't help that Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp met with Trump the same day the decision was announced, creating suspicion. But Bezos maintained this was all a series of coincidences and gross oversight, which led to accusations of political bias. "I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning and not some intentional strategy," Bezos added.

Jeff Bezos was once involved in an affair scandal when it was alleged that the business mogul was cheating on his then-wife, Mackenzie Scott, with Lauren Sanchez, who he later got engaged to. There turned out to be some merit to the rumors when the National Enquirer published romantic texts Bezos exchanged with Sanchez while he and Scott were still married. Scott and Bezos divorced in 2019, not too long after the texts were released. That same year, he and Sanchez revealed their relationship to the public.

Afterward, Bezos hired investigators to figure out how the National Enquirer obtained his texts to Sanchez in the first place. The Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia spoke with investigator Gavin de Becker, who suspected the government helped leak the messages. "Gavin de Becker told us that he does not believe that Jeff Bezos's phone was hacked," the reporter once told MSNBC (via Mediaite). "He thinks it's possible that a government entity might have gotten hold of his text messages."

What added more weight to the rumors was that Trump, who was president at the time, was good friends with David Pecker, who was the CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company AMI. However, the company's lawyer insisted that Trump and other government entities had nothing to do with the leaks, nor did they inspire the texts' publication to begin with.

Whatever feud Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump had in the past might be water under the bridge. Either that or Bezos hasn't let their history come in the way of the Amazon founder's good old-fashioned patriotism. On November 5, 2024, Trump managed to defeat his opponent, Kamala Harris, in the election to become the 47th president of the United States.

Bezos was one of many who congratulated Trump on his historic comeback. "Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities," Bezos posted on X. "Wishing [Donald Trump] all success in leading and uniting the America we all love."

However, his post drew considerable backlash from many X users who weren't happy about the election and felt Bezos was being insincere. "For all your power, you chose silence when America needed voices of courage. Wealth can buy a lot, but it can't buy a backbone." one person wrote. Another said, "Thank you for this reminder to cancel my Amazon Prime membership."