Amazon founder — and Washington Post owner — Jeff Bezos rarely speaks in public. And to get him to talk about politics in public is an even bigger feat.
But Bezos did both on Wednesday — sitting down with the New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin to talk about, among other things, his impression that Donald Trump has changed, in a good way, over the past eight years.
“What I’ve seen so far is he is calmer than he was the first time — more confident, more settled,” Bezos told Sorkin.
Which is a take!
I have watched Trump, closely, over this past decade. And my observation is that he is remarkably unchanged. In fact, Trump seems to me to be the exact same person he has always been — maybe even more so.
So, what is Bezos seeing that I’m not?
Well, I think the Amazon founder is a more naturally optimistic guy than me. He even addressed that part of his nature in the interview; “I’ve had a lot of success in life not being cynical — and I very rarely have been taken advantage of as a result,” he said.
But, Bezos is also different than me in another very important way: He’s the second (or first) richest guy in the world and I, well, am not. And, via Amazon’s vast empire, Bezos has lots and lots of financial interests that could be affected by White House policy makers — not to mention Trump’s whims.
Given that — and given the contentious relationship Bezos and Trump had during the latter’s first term — the Amazon chief is going to go out of his way to make nice with Trump and make sure the incoming president knows that he is ready to work with him.
Again, Bezos: “I’m very hopeful — he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. And my point of view is, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country.”
I am a man you can work with! I am open for business! We agree on more than we disagree!
This latest interview is of a piece with Bezos’ decision to step in and stop the Post’s editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.
(Bezos defended that decision Wednesday; “I’m proud of the decision we made, and it was far from cowardly,” he said.)
Why piss off the incoming president — in Bezos’ mind — unnecessarily? Why antagonize Trump when you are going to need him on your side or, at least, not aggressively against you?
I get it — from a business perspective. But I think Bezos’ attempt to cast Trump as changed man is laughable. Trump is Trump is Trump. Always has been. Always will be.
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