Jeff Bezos was called out on social media after he delivered some wildly over-the-top praise for President Donald Trump.
“I think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,” Bezos told CNBC on Wednesday.
“Trump has lots of good ideas. He’s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due,” he added.
Bezos, who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $272 billion, also said he has worked with presidents of both parties and will continue to do so.
Bezos had a somewhat testy relationship with Trump during his first term in office. Trump frequently attacked the billionaire for reporting in The Washington Post that was critical of him and his administration, given that Bezos owns the newspaper.
But the relationship changed dramatically during the 2024 campaign. Bezos killed the newspaper’s endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris and, after Trump won, spoke glowingly of how much the president had grown.
Amazon, the company Bezos founded, also paid $75 million for the rights to and marketing of a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The movie made $16 million at the box office.
“I had nothing to do with that,” Bezos insisted in the CNBC interview, but called the investment “a very wise business decision.”
Amazon has also reportedly contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration committee and is listed as a contributor to the planned White House ballroom that Trump has obsessed over.
The charm offensive ― and money ― appear to have worked. Earlier this year, Trump praised Bezos for doing “a real job” with The Washington Post.
But Bezos’ claims that Trump has become “more mature,” and “more disciplined,” and was “right about a lot of things” received plenty of attention on social media ― and not because people agreed with him.