Amazon founder Jeff Bezos offered his congratulations to Donald Trump after he secured over 270 electoral votes to become the 47th President of the United States in the 2024 election.
“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities,” Bezos wrote on X. “Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”
Bezos’ remarks come as the billionaire Washington Post owner has been criticized for his role in the newspaper’s decision to pull an endorsement for Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris – a move that’s resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers as well as some of its most high profile writers.
In an editorial published by the Post, Bezos denied that his business interests played a role in the decision, adding that endorsements “do nothing to tip the scales of an election” and create a “perception of bias.”
“When it comes to the appearance of conflict, I am not an ideal owner of The Post. Every day, somewhere, some Amazon executive or Blue Origin executive or someone from the other philanthropies and companies I own or invest in is meeting with government officials. I once wrote that The Post is a “complexifier” for me. It is, but it turns out I’m also a complexifier for The Post,” he added.
“You can see my wealth and business interests as a bulwark against intimidation, or you can see them as a web of conflicting interests. Only my own principles can tip the balance from one to the other. I assure you that my views here are, in fact, principled, and I believe my track record as owner of The Post since 2013 backs this up. You are of course free to make your own determination, but I challenge you to find one instance in those 11 years where I have prevailed upon anyone at The Post in favor of my own interests. It hasn’t happened.”
In addition to the Post, The Los Angeles Times also chose not to endorse a candidate for president, facing similar criticism and staffer resginations. Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong blamed the paper’s editorial board for choosing to “stay silent” and that he accepted their decision.
