Multibillionaire and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos claimed in an interview that President Donald Trump has been more \u201cmature\u201d and \u201cdisciplined\u201d in his second term, an assessment at odds with what the entire world has seen since January 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,\u201d <\/a>Bezos said<\/a> in an interview with CNBC that aired on Wednesday. \u201cTrump has lots of good ideas. He\u2019s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due.\u201d<\/p>\n Bezos\u2019 comments arrive just ahead of Memorial Day weekend, when millions of Americans will have to contend with gas prices that have skyrocketed to a national average of $4.55<\/a> per gallon thanks to Trump\u2019s \u201cmature\u201d decision to attack<\/a> Iran.<\/p>\n Bezos\u2019 praise for Trump as a \u201cdisciplined\u201d figure also comes one day after Trump held a media event<\/a> at the White House where he discussed at length his plans for a massive ballroom at the White House. Trump said a key feature of the planned facility is \u201cgreat sniper capacity\u201d because the height means \u201cwe get a very clear view of everything all over Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Americans and others around the world have not seen much of the maturity and discipline that Bezos, a man worth around $270 billion<\/a> who hardly pays taxes<\/a>, appears to see.<\/p>\n Bezos also used the interview to defend the massive layoffs<\/a> he ordered at The Washington Post in February. Those layoffs, along with pro-MAGA takeovers<\/a> at media institutions like CBS News, have helped the right\u2019s sustained assault on legitimate journalism, taking away valuable resources that are used to watchdog government officials and agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people won\u2019t pay for our product, it\u2019s not a good enough product,\u201d Bezos said<\/a>, arguing that layoffs are part of a strategy to make the paper more profitable. \u201cIt\u2019s got to be something that people will pay for because that\u2019s a signal\u2014it\u2019s a signal\u2014that we\u2019re providing a relevant service.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Post is going to continue to be an important institution. In fact, it\u2019s going to be a more important institution because of this financial discipline. It needs to be relevant to readers,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n In Bezos\u2019 eyes, the Post being \u201crelevant to readers\u201d appears to mean its editorial page attacking progressives and progressive leaders<\/a>, like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It also puts into context the millions that<\/a> Bezos\u2019 Amazon sent to the Trump family when the company bought the rights to \u201cMelania,\u201d a documentary about the first lady that went on to be a box office bomb<\/a>.<\/p>\n