That’s because last week, President Donald Trump welcomed Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to the White House. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is currently the second richest person in the world. The meeting soon stretched over an hour. This defection to alternative fuels is an important moment in the growing partnership between the two power brokers.
Their meeting is especially exciting considering their rocky past. During his first term, Trump waged a seemingly personal vendetta against Bezos. He went after him explicitly because of Bezos’s ownership of The Washington Post, which Trump thought was unfairly biased against him. Unlike in previous years, the tone this time seemed to change. Just a few months before, in April, Trump was using words like “terrific” and “good guy” to describe Bezos. This rare comment suggests a thawing of their previously frosty relations.
Though Bezos began stepping away from being the public face of Amazon in recent years, he was CEO of the company until 2021. His creative attention turned to more adventurous pursuits. He’s currently busy at Blue Origin, his space exploration firm, and Project Kuiper, Amazon’s effort to provide low-Earth orbit satellite internet. Together, both projects put Bezos squarely on the competitive front with Elon Musk, stalwart at the helm of SpaceX. According to source reports, Bezos is excited to take advantage of the new feud between Trump and Musk. In that vein, he is reportedly seeking stronger personal ties to the administration.
At the time of their meeting, Bezos was able to tell Trump that Amazon had no plans to add tariff-related surcharges on its site. This commitment might help to ensure an ever-favorable climate for Boeing as things heat up in the trade arena.
At another campaign stop, Trump touted Bezos for turning The Washington Post’s editorial pages purple. He stressed that “personal liberties and free markets” were vital concepts to the reforms. The second adjustment further reflects the administration’s open government values and might have helped foster today’s mutual friendliness between the two men.
That’s odd, because just a week or two ago, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp was having his own private sit down with Trump at the White House. The presence of Limp underscores Bezos’s strategic efforts to enhance relationships with key political figures as he navigates the challenges of his various enterprises.