Jeff Bezos congratulates Trump on blocking WaPo approval

AP Photo/John Locher, file

Billionaire Jeff Bezos offered “huge congratulations” to the former president Donald Trump about his election victory in a tweet he posted on Wednesday morning.

Bezos, who has been one of the richest people in the world for the entire 21st century so far, founded Amazon and also owns aerospace company Blue Origin and The Washington Post.

His ownership of the newspaper in the nation’s capital was central controversy last month when he After of issuing a statement of support for Trump’s Democratic opponent, the vice president Kamala Harris. The decision led to sharp criticism Marty Baronthe To inform former editor-in-chief and legendary Watergate reporters Bob Woodward And Charles Bernsteinwho told that story while reporting for the After. Several staffers resigned from the editorial board, and the After hundreds of thousands lost subscribers.

Bezos defended the decision in a op-ed published in late October, arguing that “(p)residential endorsements do nothing to tip the balance of elections,” and only undermine confidence in journalism.

“By itself, refusing to support presidential candidates is not enough to move us very far on the trust scale, but it is a meaningful step in the right direction,” he added. “I wish we had made the change sooner than we did, at a time further away from the elections and the emotions surrounding them. That was inadequate planning and not a deliberate strategy.”

Trump has loudly criticized the Post in the past for its coverage of his campaigns and his first presidential term, sometimes mentioning owner Bezos by name, but he praised the decision not to publish a statement of support for Harris. justification that “they think I’m doing a great job.”

The former president received enough Electoral College votes late Tuesday night to send him back to the White House, and on Wednesday morning Bezos posted a tweet congratulating him.

“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th president on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Bezos wrote. “No country has greater opportunities. I wish @realDonaldTrump every success as he leads and unites the America we all love.”

Bezos is not a prolific social media user. Are last tweet was back in July after Trump survived an assassination attempt, writing that Trump “showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire last night” and saying he was “(so) grateful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families. Before that, his tweets every few months are posts about Blue Origin spaceflight projects and other space exploration topics.

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