Jeff Bezos says he has ‘high hopes’ for Donald Trump’s second term

Jeff Bezos and President-elect Donald Trump famously did not get along the last time Trump was in the White House. In this case, Bezos says he is “very optimistic” and wants to help.

“I’m actually very optimistic about this,” Bezos said of Trump during a rare public appearance The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday. “It seems that he has a lot of power in lowering the standards. If I can help him do that, I will.”

Trump attacked Bezos and his companies – Amazon, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post – during his 2016 season. Bezos defended himself but it did nothing to help his reputation with Trump. Now, his companies are at risk from the coming administration, from the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon to Blue Origin’s efforts to compete with SpaceX for government contracts.

On stage at the DealBook Conference on Wednesday, Bezos called Trump “calm now” and “very settled.” He said he would try to “talk him out” of the media’s opinion, including The Washington Posthe is the enemy of the people.

“He’s probably matured in the last eight years,” he told DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “You have it, too.”

Bezos also echoed Sam Altman’s comments earlier in the day, saying he doesn’t expect Elon Musk to use his newfound political power and DOGE against rivals. “I’ve had a lot of success in life without a doubt,” he said. “And I’m rarely used for that.”

You can watch Bezos’ interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin below: