US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about his working relationship with Jeff Bezos and the future of The Washington Post, alleging that Bezos privately criticised the newspaper’s staff.
In an interview with OutKick’s Clay Travis, Trump claimed Bezos lamented the financial losses from running the publication and voiced frustrations about its newsroom employees.
“They actually did a couple of bad articles on him,” Trump said. “He said, ‘This is crazy, I lose my fortune running this thing and they’re out of control. These people are crazy.'”
Trump, who previously had a contentious relationship with Bezos during his first term, now describes him as “a good guy.” “I didn’t really know him in the first term. I mean, it’s such a difference between now and the first time,” he added.
Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, recently announced changes to the newspaper’s opinion pages. In a February post on X, he said that the publication would focus on defending “two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.” He emphasised that while other viewpoints would still be represented, the Post’s editorial direction would strongly support those values.
“I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America,” Bezos wrote. “I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion.”
Bezos has previously clashed with the newspaper’s staff, most notably last year when he blocked a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris shortly before the election.
Trump praised the recent shifts at the Post, calling them “great,” and said he discussed the changes directly with Bezos. He also noted that Bezos has been on the receiving end of negative press, furthering his belief that the billionaire is “really trying to be more fair.”
Reflecting on his evolving political support, Trump pointed to Bezos’ attendance at his inauguration as an example of how attitudes toward him have shifted. “If you look at the inauguration, look at the people that were on that stage,” Trump said. “It was a who’s who of a world that was totally against me the first time.”
He concluded, “It’s a much different presidency. I have much more support.”
