Jeff Bezos privately conceded to President Donald Trump that his ownership of The Washington Post had been a mistake and that the people running the paper were terrible, according to a new book.
The exchange is detailed in Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by New York Times reporters Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, as reported by Western Journal. The book, due out June 23, recounts a December 2024 dinner where the Amazon founder and the President spoke candidly about the Post and its ideological tilt.
An excerpt obtained by the New York Post describes Trump pressing Bezos on the papers entrenched left-wing bias, which conservatives have long argued functions as a de facto arm of the Democratic Party. This Washington Post is really unfair. Youve got to take better care, Trump reportedly told Bezos, challenging the billionaire over the outlets coverage.
Rather than defend his newsroom, Bezos is said to have turned his criticism inward, lamenting the culture and insubordination at the paper he purchased in 2013. The people there are terrible, Bezos reportedly told Trump. They dont listen. My other companies, they listen.
The New York Post reported that Bezos lost more than $100 million on the publication in 2024, underscoring the financial cost of maintaining a legacy media brand increasingly out of step with many readers. In February 2025, Bezos announced that The Washington Posts opinion section would be restructured with a renewed focus on personal liberties and free markets, a shift that sounded more aligned with classical liberal and conservative principles than the papers recent progressive bent.
That move, however, triggered backlash from some staff and segments of the Posts audience who appeared resistant to ideological diversity on the opinion pages. It followed an earlier uproar over the papers decision not to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, a break from the expectation that major media institutions would reliably line up behind the Democratic ticket, which led to a wave of canceled subscriptions.
The book also recounts how Trumps view of Bezos evolved as he came to see the Amazon founder as less directly responsible for every hostile story. He said they write stories about him. And I didnt believe him the first time, first term. And I hated him for it, Trump allegedly recalled. And then I believed him, Trump added, suggesting he ultimately accepted that the entrenched newsroom culture, not just its owner, was driving the Posts antagonistic coverage.
A representative for The Washington Post declined to comment on Bezos reported remarks about his staff, a silence that does little to dispel the perception of a newsroom at war with both its owner and a large portion of the country. For conservatives who have long argued that corporate media are dominated by unaccountable left-wing elites, Bezos alleged admission that his own employees dont listen only reinforces the sense that these institutions are less interested in serving readers than in preserving their ideological fiefdoms.
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