The Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, who is set to tie the knot with his long-term partner Lauren Sanchez this week, had a word with the President at least twice this month, reported Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter. The space company’s CEO Dave Limp even came to the White House to meet with Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles in mid-June, the report revealed.
Bezos trying to capitalise Trump-Musk breakup?In at least some of the conversations with Trump and his staff, Bezos and other Blue Origin executives have appealed for more government contracts, the people said. Sources revealed during one such conversation, Trump expressed a desire to see a crewed mission to the moon before the end of his tenure.
Jeff Bezos’ outreach to commander-in-chief came days after an ugly break-up of Trump and Musk, who served as one of the president’s top advisers and owns his own rocket company, SpaceX. Musk was appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed to slash federal funds and downsize the size of various government agencies. Musk has quit DOGE.
Unhappy with the President’s ‘big, beautiful bill’, the world’s richest man went on a destructive rampage calling for Trump’s impeachment and accusing him of being linked to disgraced and notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein. In return, Trump said he may terminate billions of federal contracts to Musk’s companies, including SpaceX. Musk threatened to “immediately” withdraw SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft from service, a critical component of the U.S. space program.ALSO READ: Katy Perry won’t be at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding. The reason is heartbreaking
Musk and Bezos have been rivals for years and Blue Origin has long trailed SpaceX, both in terms of technical milestones and contract wins. Blue Origin executives had reportedly been concerned about Musk’s closeness with Trump.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.How Bezos settled scores with TrumpTrump and Jeff Bezos were at odds for years. The duo were not on good terms during his first presidency’s, with Trump attacking both Amazon and The Washington Post—which Bezos owns—and once referring to him as “Jeff Bozo.”
During his first term, Trump frequently criticized Jeff Bezos, alleging that the Amazon founder used The Washington Post—which Bezos acquired in 2013—to launch unfair attacks against his administration. Trump also accused Amazon of operating as a monopoly and ordered a federal investigation into the company’s relationship with the US Postal Service, claiming it benefited from discounted rates that undermined the agency’s financial stability.
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The once-strained relationship seemed to warm up after Trump made a historic return to the White House with Amazon donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. Bezos sat in what came to be known as the “billionaires’ row” flanking Trump at the event.
Bezos has sought to charm Trump in recent months, even inviting Trump to his celebrity-filled wedding scheduled for this weekend in Venice, White House officials told WSJ. The president isn’t expected to attend because of to scheduling conflicts, people close to him said.
But Blue Origin still faces a big challenge in winning government business over SpaceX. SpaceX has reeled in much bigger and more government contracts than Blue Origin, given its lead on launch and in-space operations. SpaceX and Blue Origin might square off over several important government deals, including space-related work tied to Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile-defense effort and Mars projects the White House has proposed that NASA pursue.
Amazon also paid $40 million for first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, paying nearly triple the amount of the next closest bidder for the project. More than 70% of the sum will go to Melania Trump.