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AP / Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
- Jeff Bezos extended his congratulations to Donald Trump on his presidential election victory.
- The two have exchanged numerous criticisms throughout their relationship.
- This article explores the history between Bezos and Trump.
On Wednesday, Jeff Bezos praised Donald Trump for what he termed “an impressive political resurgence and clear victory” in the 2024 presidential election. He expressed hopes for Trump’s success in “leading and uniting our beloved America.”
After an assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024, Bezos ended a nearly nine-month silence on X (formerly Twitter) to comment: “Our former President displayed remarkable poise and bravery under real threat tonight. I am grateful for his safety while mourning the victims and their families.”
The Amazon founder has not shied away from conflict with Trump. In 2016, he criticized Trump’s desire to imprison Hillary Clinton or reject electoral defeat as something that “erodes our democracy at its core.”
“One of the hallmarks of this great nation is our ability to question and hold accountable those we elect,” said Bezos at that time.
“A candidate for president should welcome scrutiny by saying, ‘I am vying for the highest office; please evaluate my candidacy,'” he added. “What we’ve witnessed instead is an attempt to intimidate media outlets with threats of retaliation—this behavior is simply unacceptable.”
After Trump’s election win that year, Bezos was among several tech executives who met with him in a summit that he later described as “very productive.” During this meeting, he introduced himself by expressing enthusiasm about potential innovations under what could be termed an ‘innovation administration.’
The Dynamic Between Trump and Amazon
During his campaign for presidency in 2016, Trump warned that if elected, Amazon would face significant challenges.
In 2017, he tweeted about how Amazon was causing substantial harm to tax-paying retailers across America: “They are doing great damage to tax paying retailers,” adding that “towns across the U.S. are suffering because of it.”
The following year saw him reiterate these claims by stating that smaller businesses were being driven out due to Amazon’s dominance.
Trump has also frequently asserted that Amazon should bear higher costs when using USPS services. In one tweet from 2017 he questioned why “the United States Post Office continues losing billions annually while charging so little for deliveries,” suggesting they should charge significantly more instead.
A notable incident occurred in 2019 when Amazon filed a federal complaint against the Department of Defense after Microsoft was awarded a $10 billion contract intended for cloud services—a decision they claimed was influenced by Trump’s personal vendetta against them due to perceived animosity towards Bezos at the time.
This led to further developments where in 2021; DoD canceled Microsoft’s contract announcing plans instead for multiple vendors including both Microsoft and AWS as viable Cloud Service Providers capable of fulfilling their requirements.
Trump’s Critique of The Washington Post
Trump has consistently targeted The Washington Post since it came under Jeff Bezos’ ownership.
Diving into personal matters surrounding Bezons’ divorce from MacKenzie Scott back in 2019; Trump took jabs at both individuals stating: “So sorry about Jeff Bozo being outdone by competition whose reporting I hear is far more accurate than what’s found within his lobbyist newspaper—the Washington Post.” He hoped it would soon fall into better hands!
A Shift Away From Endorsements
For only the second time since its inception decades ago—the newspaper refrained from endorsing any presidential candidate during elections held this year (2024). Reports suggest intervention from Bezons blocked support previously drafted towards Kamala Harris.
Bezos later penned an op-ed defending this choice arguing endorsements create perceptions bias without influencing electoral outcomes.
Read more on Business Insider
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