President Donald Trump speaks with Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon during an American Technology Council roundtable in the State Dinning Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 19, 2017. (Jabin Botsford – The Washington Post / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short December 19, 2024 at 10:53am
The who’s who of the billionaire class want to get close to President-elect Donald Trump — and he seems to be taking notice.
On Thursday morning, Trump posted to Truth Social with one sentence that reads, “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!”
Despite the lack of immediate context, the timing was incredibly appropriate considering Trump’s Wednesday night.
That evening, the New York Post reports Trump met with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the two had dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. The Post also mentions Trump had announced last week Bezos would be visiting him.
Although The Washington Post — owned by Bezos — came to be seen as one of many vehemently anti-Trump media outlets for its criticisms of Trump dating back to his first term and campaign in that election cycle, a shift towards a more lukewarm position occurred when it did not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign before election day this year.
Perhaps Bezos saw the writing on the wall for Harris.
Bezos meeting with Trump comes after National Public Radio reported Friday that he and other several other owners, CEOs, and billionaires plan to make donations to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg, along with OpenAI Ceo Sam Altman, plan to make donations along with Bezos’ Amazon.
Was Trump referring to Jeff Bezos with this comment?
Aside from meeting with Bezos on Wednesday, NPR reported Google CEO Sundar Pichai also plans to meet with Trump.
Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago in November after president elect’s victory over Harris.
Bezos reportedly commented on Trump’s second term, saying, “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help do that, I’m going to help him.”
Business Insider also placed X owner Elon Musk at the scene Wednesday. Musk said the dinner was a “great conversation.” The Telsa CEO is arguably the closest to Trump of any billionaire as he is slated to co-lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, along with Vivek Ramaswamy.
Although one could read Trump’s post on Truth Social in the patently irreverent and facetious tone that Trump would use were he making this statement in front of the press, it is reflective of the reality unfolding after his victory.
Is he talking about Bezos here? It’s hard to conclude the post is about anyone else.
Although Trump and Bezos — or Trump and Zuckerberg, or any of the aforementioned names — had a turbulent relationship previously, sensible businessmen understand a bridge is never truly burned.
After being unceremoniously kicked off Twitter following his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden and receiving a two-year suspension on Facebook after the events of January 6, 2021, Trump knows firsthand the enormous power big tech wields.
Now that the pendulum has swung back in his direction after November 5, they understand the enormous power he will soon wield after his inauguration.
Trump is shrewd enough to understand that Bezos, Zuckerberg, and the rest of their ilk did not wake up one morning and magically come to their senses. He understands this is about self-preservation in an effort to keep the regulatory hammer from shattering them.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London.
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