President Trump is offering rare praise of a media executive, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, alluding to a slew of changes he has made to the newspaper in recent months.
“I find it to be that the media hasn’t changed that much,” Trump said during an interview with television journalist Sharyl Attkisson. “I think a guy like Bezos is — I’ve gotten to know him, and I think he’s trying to do a real job. Jeff Bezos is trying to do a real job with The Washington Post.”
Trump said he’s noticed a change in the way Bezos operated the Post during his first term.
“That wasn’t happening before,” the president said.
Trump was making reference to a spate of high-profile moves Bezos has ordered at the Post, including the nixing of any editorial backing a presidential candidate last fall, a new directive over the focus of its op-eds and a reorganization of the Post’s newsroom.
The moves have sparked widespread blowback, canceled subscriptions, staff departures and accusations Bezos is trying to curry favor with Trump to further his business interests.
The billionaire attended Trump’s inauguration but has denied he is trying to use the Post as a mechanism to shore up relations with the administration, instead arguing changes are needed at the newspaper to regain trust with readers.
The Post during Trump’s first four years in office made a name for itself and built a brand around aggressive coverage of his administration, coined with the mantra “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
The Post earlier this year rolled out a new internal mission statement, “Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” as part of the sweeping changes Bezos has presided over.
Trump, meanwhile, has ridiculed mainstream media outlets during his first two months in office and threatened to use the power of the federal government to scrutinize news providers he says are too hostile toward him.
