Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’ actions to turn the venerable newspaper into a mouthpiece for conservative politics and the MAGA movement are being praised by President Donald Trump.
The comments came during an interview on Sunday, with disgraced reporter Sharyl Attkisson on her program “Full Measure,” which airs on the conservative Sinclair network of television stations.
“A guy like Bezos, I’ve gotten to know him, and I think he’s trying to do a real job, Jeff Bezos is trying to do a real job with the Washington Post,” Trump said, going on to say that he believes that reporting on him from the mainstream media has been more friendly than in his first term.
Trump has frequently fumed about accurate reporting on him, particularly reporting that has revealed his financial misdeeds, his bigotry, and his numerous political mistakes. Trump has sued outlets like ABC News, CBS News, and the Des Moines Register for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Trump’s praise comes after Bezos, the second wealthiest person on the planet, has taken a series of actions at the Post to move the paper in a rightward direction.
Recently Bezos announced that the paper’s opinion section, which once published multiple points of view (including many conservative ones), would no longer do so. Instead, the paper would move to the right.
“We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,” Bezos declared.
The decision caused the departure of the Post opinion editor David Shipley. A few days later, longtime columnist Ruth Marcus announced she was leaving the paper and published a column in the New Yorker that the Post had refused to publish. In her piece, Marcus criticized Bezos for his stance and revealed that media writer Erik Wemple had a column critical of Bezos that the Post would not publish.
Marcus’ exit follows the departure of other notable figures like Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes, who had a cartoon critical of Bezos spiked, as well as columnist Jennifer Rubin who left the paper.
In a statement explaining her departure, Rubin wrote, “Corporate and billionaire owners of major media outlets have betrayed their audiences’ loyalty and sabotaged journalism’s sacred mission—defending, protecting, and advancing democracy. The Washington Post’s billionaire owner and enlisted management are among the offenders. They have undercut the values central to The Post’s mission and that of all journalism: integrity, courage, and independence.”
Several writers quit the Post editorial board in 2024 after Bezos made the decision to pull an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The news side of the Post has also reflected a pro-Trump narrative. In reporting on Trump’s recent address to a joint session of Congress, the paper was in league with other mainstream outlets in downplaying the abnormal nature of the affair, including the decision to remove Rep. Al Green for disagreeing with Trump.
Bezos’ pro-Trump actions aren’t limited to the Post. Amazon, where Bezos made his fortune, recently announced that it would begin streaming old episodes of Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice” and the company is also paying first lady Melania Trump for a documentary.
Bezos gushed over Trump’s election win in a congratulatory post, donated to his inaugural committee, and had front row seats at the event. Trump’s comments acknowledge Bezos’ major moves to curry favor with the Republican leader and show that he appreciates the work being done at the Post on his behalf.
