Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, in a rare public comment on politics, called Donald Trump’s criticism of the media “dangerous” and said the president should instead be “glad” to receive tough coverage.
“What the president should say is, ‘This is right. This is good. I am glad I am getting scrutinized,’” Bezos said on Thursday. “But it’s really dangerous to demonize the media. It’s dangerous to call the media lowlifes. It’s dangerous to say they’re the ‘enemy of the people.’”
Bezos weighed in on Trump and other topics including the Blue Origin foundation, during a one-hour conversation with investor David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington.
Highlight: Bezos on Trump: "It's really dangerous to demonize the media." @RickJNewman: "He's basically saying the president is acting insecure and unconfident." https://t.co/ObzMOMFjVy pic.twitter.com/LKcal8mVAk
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) September 14, 2018
President Trump has been a frequent critic of Amazon and Bezos — as well as the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013.
“The #AmazonWashingtonPost, sometimes referred to as the guardian of Amazon not paying internet taxes (which they should) is FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted last year. He’s also blasted the company for tax breaks and treating the USPS as its personal “delivery boy.”
Bezos said he doesn’t “feel the need to defend Amazon” on Thursday, but that it’s a “mistake for any elected official to attack media and journalists.”
“We live in a society where it’s not just the laws of the land that protect us. It’s also social norms that protect us. And every time you attack that, you’re eroding it a little bit around the edges,” Bezos added.
President Trump, as of Friday morning, had not responded on Twitter and the White House didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.