Amazon founder Jeff Bezos offered a notably favorable assessment of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, describing him in a CNBC interview as a more restrained and disciplined leader than he was during his first term.
Appearing on “Squawk Box” with anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bezos was asked about comments he made roughly two years earlier, shortly after Trump’s election victory, when he said the then-president-elect appeared calmer and more mellowed.
“I still think that,” Bezos said.
Sorkin followed up by asking whether that assessment still held amid recent global conflicts and the administration’s new tariff policies. Bezos answered by comparing Trump’s current presidency with his first.
“I’m comparing him to his first term, and I think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,” Bezos said. “Again, I’ve worked with all the presidents, I will work with all the presidents, you know, and I hope to do that going forward if they’ll have me, but we need our business leaders to provide input into the administration, regardless of who the president is.”
Bezos, who founded Amazon and owns The Washington Post, also sought to frame his approach as nonpartisan rather than ideological.
“I’m not on the side– you know what, I’m on the side of America, and that is so important. Like, and that’s where business leaders should be. I think we are, but we get perceived as being like, you know, partisan or whatever. Like, I was helping Obama every chance I could. I was helping Biden every chance I could. I still call Obama for advice. He’s a very smart guy.”
He added that Trump deserved credit for some of his policy judgments.
“Trump has thought some good ideas, and he has done a lot– he’s been right about a lot of things, and you have to give him credit where credit is due.”
The remarks reflect a continued change in Bezos’ public posture toward Trump, noted Mediate, a shift that has drawn criticism from some liberal observers as the billionaire entrepreneur has become more openly engaged with the administration.
That scrutiny intensified last year after Bezos announced that The Washington Post would narrow its opinion section around “two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.” The announcement came the same day he dined with Trump and followed a letter from more than 400 Post journalists raising concerns about the paper’s direction.
Bezos’ CNBC appearance comes as major business leaders continue to navigate their relationships with the White House, balancing access to policymakers with the political risks of appearing aligned with either party.
