With just over a week remaining before the U.S. presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump visited Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Trump had a brief meeting with Blue Origin’s CEO David Limp and Vice President of Government Relations Megan Mitchell. CNN also reported that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently reached out to the former president for a phone call.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon and known supporter of Democratic politics, reportedly intervened to prevent The Washington Post’s editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris shortly before Trump’s visit. This decision led to a backlash, with thousands, including author Stephen King, announcing they were canceling their Washington Post subscriptions. Additionally, eighteen Washington Post columnists published an op-ed criticizing the move as a “terrible mistake.”
According to a Daily Beast report, Trump waited to confirm that Bezos had taken the promised action before meeting with Blue Origin employees. Robert Kagan, a former Washington Post editor who resigned on Friday, stated, “This tells us that a real deal is being made.”
“We recognize that this may be seen as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, a condemnation of another, or an abdication of responsibility,” Washington Post editor Will Lewis wrote in a note to readers, drawing criticism from some staff members. “We don’t see it that way. We believe it is consistent with the values The Post has always stood for,” he argued.
The Post’s editorial board endorsed Trump’s rivals in 2016 and 2020 and has a long-standing tradition of supporting presidential candidates for the past 30 years. However, this time, the paper refrained from endorsing Harris.
Interestingly, despite the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, led by Chair Lina Khan, many in the Biden-Harris administration reportedly still view Amazon favorably. The Biden Small Business Administration directs jobs to Amazon, the NSA has awarded billions in contracts to Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo advocates for Amazon’s interests in Europe. Additionally, one of the government’s AI security advisors is also affiliated with Amazon.
Amazon has deep connections within the Democratic Party. Senator Chuck Schumer’s daughter, Barack Obama’s former spokesperson Jay Carney, and Kamala Harris adviser Karen Dunn all work for Amazon. Bezos himself has donated $100 million to Democratic figures like Van Jones and chef José Andrés and contributed $100 million to Barack Obama’s presidential library. Prominent Democratic figures, including former Clinton administration official Jamie Gorelick, serve on Amazon’s board.
However, recent developments indicate a shift within the party. Lina Khan’s antitrust actions against Big Tech have reportedly unsettled these corporate alliances. The New York Times recently ran a piece titled “Lina Khan vs. Jeff Bezos,” highlighting Khan’s ambition to break up Amazon, following her recent actions against Google.
In 2016, The Washington Post endorsed Hillary Clinton, describing Trump as “bigoted, ignorant, deceitful, narcissistic, vindictive, narrow-minded, misogynistic, fiscally reckless, intellectually lazy, contemptuous of democracy, and in love with America’s enemies.” The Post warned that he would be a “grave danger to our nation and the world.” Following Trump’s victory, Bezos felt the consequences of this stance; the Trump administration awarded a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft instead of Amazon, a decision widely seen as politically motivated and later canceled by the Biden administration.
According to the Daily Beast, Bezos is keen to avoid a repeat of this situation.
The Washington Post’s decision not to endorse Harris coincides with a similar stance by Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times, who reportedly blocked his paper’s editorial board from endorsing Harris as well.
