Amazon founder Jeff Bezos spoke optimistically of President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, saying he expects a more friendly regulatory environment in the upcoming administration.
“I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said on stage. “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help do that, I’m going to help him.”
Bezos’ comments struck a cheerful tone despite Trump publicly lambasting the billionaire during his first term. Trump repeatedly attacked Bezos and his companies, Amazon and The Washington Post, accusing them of dodging taxes or publishing “fake news,” among other things. In 2019, Amazon blamed Trump’s “behind-the-scenes attacks” against the company for its loss of a multibillion-dollar Department of Defense contract, then called JEDI.
Prior to the 2016 election, Bezos criticized Trump’s behavior, saying it “erodes our democracy.” He offered to shoot Trump into space after the then-Republican candidate attacked Bezos for using the Post as a “tax shelter.”
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