WASHINGTON — As he took the Oath of Office in the Capitol Rotunda during an invitation-only ceremony, President Donald Trump faced a crowd that included lawmakers, top aides and one of the country’s richest individuals: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post.
Trump had assailed Bezos and his companies during his first term. But in the months before his Jan. 20 inauguration, the two businessman appeared to call a truce. Bezos congratulated Trump on his election win, dined with the then-president elect at Mar-a-Lago and then watched the peaceful transfer of power to Trump from President Joe Biden.
But the Trump-Bezos relationship hit another rough patch on April 29, after the news outlet, Punchbowl, reported that Amazon was planning to display how much more items would cost because of Trump’s tariffs.
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White House rips Amazon over report
The White House responded harshly, declaring the move a “hostile and political act by Amazon” at a televised morning briefing. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear in doing so the message was coming directly from Trump.
Leavitt asked why the company would change the way it displays prices in response to Trump’s tariffs, when it did not take similar action during the Biden administration to reflect cost increases brought on by high inflation.
Within hours, the company said the display change would not happen.
More: Amazon denies plans to list tariff prices after President Trump calls Jeff Bezos to object
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen,” a spokesperson for Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon Haul competes against China-based companies Temu and Shein, which announced price increases in April.
Economists have said other companies are also likely to pass fees on imported goods on to consumers rather than absorb them.
Trump calls Bezos amid tariff tiff
After reading the news report, Trump called Bezos, the White House said on April 29. It did not share the specifics of what was discussed.
Trump credited Bezos with the change later, as he departed the White House for a rally in Michigan.
“Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly and he did the right thing,” he said. “He’s a good guy.”
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Throughout his first four years in office, Trump regularly attacked Bezos and criticized his companies. He called the businessman a “bozo” and accused Amazon of harming small retailors. He pushed the U.S. Postal Service to charge the company more for its packages. Trump also called without success for the Pulitzer Board to strip The Washington Post of an award it received for coverage of alleged ties between Russian election interference in 2016 and the Trump campaign.
Since then, Bezos says Trump has calmed down.
“What I’ve seen so far is he is calmer than he was the first time and more settled,” Bezos said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit last December. “You’ve probably grown in the last eight years. He has too.”
Bezos’s detente with Trump
Soon after, Trump said that Bezos would be visiting him in Florida. Amazon confirmed the same day that it would be donating $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. Bezos dined with Trump and fellow billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the president’s Department of Government Efficiency, at Mar-a-Lago the following week.
Bezos’ newspaper did not issue an endorsement in the last election. It announced an opinion page shift in February to a focus on “personal liberties and free markets.” The White House commended the newspaper during one of its press briefings for making other changes to its newsroom in March.
Trump said in a February interview that he used to consider Bezos and other tech company owners “bitter enemies” but he does not view them that way now.
And in an interview with The Atlantic that published this week, Trump complimented Bezos again. “He’s 100 percent. He’s been great,” he said.
Speaking about his improved relationship with Bezos and other billionaires such as Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, who also attended the inauguration and has been seen at the White House, Trump told the publication, “It’s just a higher level of respect.”
“Maybe they didn’t know me at the beginning, and they know me now,” Trump said.
Contributing: Joey Garrison
