Jeff Bezos' Amazon Pledges $1 Million to Trump
The owner of The Washington Post is reportedly looking to improve ties with the US president-elect following several years of intense criticism. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Amazon has confirmed its contribution of $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, with plans to stream the ceremony as well. This move has been widely viewed as a gesture of goodwill from CEO Jeff Bezos.
Since Bezos acquired The Washington Post in 2013, the newspaper has been one of Trump’s staunchest critics throughout his presidency.
“Bezos is donating through Amazon,” a source informed the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Amazon has since corroborated this information in a statement to CNN.
Beyond the monetary donation, Amazon’s Prime Video will contribute an additional $1 million in the form of streaming the inauguration. Furthermore, Bezos is expected to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next week.
With Bezos’ net worth estimated at nearly $250 billion, the financial contributions are primarily symbolic. Earlier this year, he began to distance himself from overt support for the Democrats, notably praising Trump’s “tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13. He also vetoed the Post’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in October, which sparked significant concern among staff and subscribers.
Recently, the Journal reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would also be donating $1 million to the Trump inaugural fund. Zuckerberg dined with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago last month.
Both Bezos and Zuckerberg's contributions have been interpreted as efforts to make amends for their previous donations, totaling over $400 million to Democrats and numerous organizations in predominantly Democratic areas. The companies faced backlash after banning the sitting president from Facebook and Instagram following the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Donations to inaugural committees face no contribution limits but must be reported to the Federal Elections Commission.
Earlier this month, during an event hosted by the New York Times, Bezos indicated he would attempt to persuade Trump to reconsider his stance that the legacy media is “the enemy of the people.”
“What I’ve seen so far is that he is calmer than he was the first time and more confident, more settled,” Bezos suggested, indicating that Trump might be open to dialogue.
At the same time, SpaceX owner Elon Musk has emerged as a firm ally to Trump—first by acquiring Twitter in 2022 and reducing censorship on the platform, and later by endorsing Trump and donating approximately $200 million to his re-election campaign.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
Since Bezos acquired The Washington Post in 2013, the newspaper has been one of Trump’s staunchest critics throughout his presidency.
“Bezos is donating through Amazon,” a source informed the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Amazon has since corroborated this information in a statement to CNN.
Beyond the monetary donation, Amazon’s Prime Video will contribute an additional $1 million in the form of streaming the inauguration. Furthermore, Bezos is expected to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next week.
With Bezos’ net worth estimated at nearly $250 billion, the financial contributions are primarily symbolic. Earlier this year, he began to distance himself from overt support for the Democrats, notably praising Trump’s “tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13. He also vetoed the Post’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in October, which sparked significant concern among staff and subscribers.
Recently, the Journal reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg would also be donating $1 million to the Trump inaugural fund. Zuckerberg dined with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago last month.
Both Bezos and Zuckerberg's contributions have been interpreted as efforts to make amends for their previous donations, totaling over $400 million to Democrats and numerous organizations in predominantly Democratic areas. The companies faced backlash after banning the sitting president from Facebook and Instagram following the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Donations to inaugural committees face no contribution limits but must be reported to the Federal Elections Commission.
Earlier this month, during an event hosted by the New York Times, Bezos indicated he would attempt to persuade Trump to reconsider his stance that the legacy media is “the enemy of the people.”
“What I’ve seen so far is that he is calmer than he was the first time and more confident, more settled,” Bezos suggested, indicating that Trump might be open to dialogue.
At the same time, SpaceX owner Elon Musk has emerged as a firm ally to Trump—first by acquiring Twitter in 2022 and reducing censorship on the platform, and later by endorsing Trump and donating approximately $200 million to his re-election campaign.
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
