Jeff Bezos Reportedly Afraid Trump Would Seek ‘Vengeance’ on Him After Making Himself an ‘Enemy’—He’s ‘Dependent’ on the President
StyleCaster Editors
President Trump is notorious for his emotional ups and downs and for turning on people on a dime. So, it’s not surprising that someone like Jeff Bezos would be trying hard to stay in the President’s good graces. This entire presidency, we’ve seen business leaders from all sides of the political aisle try to integrate themselves with Trump, because that’s beneficial for their business. Business first, morals later. Or something.
Now, there are reports that the recent layoffs at the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, might have had something to do with Trump. Martin Baron, former executive editor of the Post, told Jen Psaki on “The Briefing” that the layoffs were related to Trump.
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According to Barron, when he joined the Washington Post in 2013, “It was a great news organization then,” even if “it had faced many challenges.
“[Bezos] acquired the paper about a year after I had been there. He invested. He spoke on behalf of the mission of the Post. He spoke on behalf of the mission of the press in this country,” he said, adding that the paper “grew under the ownership” of Bezos.
But he was clear that the layoffs “represent a turn back.”
“It suggests that this newspaper, with a deep heritage and historically high ambitions, is going to retreat,” he explained. “And it’s a terrible thing to see a news organization that’s been so important to the history of this country retreat the way that this newspaper is doing.”
All of this, Baron said, can be traced back to Trump. “I explain it by saying the words ‘Donald Trump.’ That’s what happened.”
“Trump came into office again,” Baron said. “He had promised vengeance against his perceived political enemies. Jeff Bezos was seen as a political enemy by Donald Trump for one reason and one reason only, and that was the coverage of the Washington Post.”
And that coverage was, of course, not always positive. Baron was clear that he believed Bezos feared repercussions for him and his business due to the Washington Post’s reporting.
When Trump returned to the White House, Baron said he believed Bezos was afraid the administration would target him and his other businesses for the Post’s journalism. “And so he has sought to navigate this administration during the second term,” Baron explained. And that apparently means scaling back the negative coverage of Trump and moving more towards the center, something Baron was very critical of. This is also something that has been pointed out by many others as over 300 journalists were fired from the Washington Post in recent days, with the entirety of the books and sports section and most of its international coverage being shut down.
“This is a newspaper that has prided itself on its independence, and the behavior of Jeff Bezos has suggested to the readers that he is not independent at all,” Baron said. “He’s actually dependent — dependent on Donald Trump.”
Not a good sign for one of the most important newspapers in the country, one whose logline is: Democracy Dies in Darkness.
