Being Bezos in the Era of Trump
I don’t spend a lot of time in my La-Z-Boy being hypnotized by daytime TV. Ok, I’ve spent some time in my La-Z-Boy being hypnotized by daytime TV — at least enough to pick up that “hypnotized” line from the Tom Cruise/Jamie Foxx movie Collateral.
But anyway, I did catch a Dec. 4 segment on CNBC. It was an interview between “journalist, author, and co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box” Andrew Ross Sorkin and centibillionaire Jeff Bezos. Yeah, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Blue Origin, Washington Post, Bezos Expeditions, Bezos Earth Fund, and Bezos Academy fame.
In contrast to Sorkin’s performance as a blushing ingénue, Bezos came across as a real mensch. As Sorkin squirmed and wormed in his seat, crossing and re-crossing his legs in some kind of flirty semaphore, Bezos sat foursquare, comfortable in his own skin, responding to Sorkin’s often shrill queries in calm, low tones. In fact, Bezos’s measured responses were so measured and so thoughtfully delivered that the actual content of his replies was tedious to follow.
But follow I did.
When Sorkin played the mischievous pixie and tried to draw out the centibillionaire on the Washington Post’s “cowardly” failure to endorse Kamala Harris, Bezos calmly and convincingly responded that it was indeed the opposite of cowardly: “You can’t do the wrong thing because you’re worried about bad PR.” (RELATED: Three Cheers for Jeff Bezos)
When Sorkin pushed Bezos on Trump’s so-called “hatred of the press,” and how Bezos would move forward as owner of the Washington Post, he smiled and said that he would try to “talk him out of it.”
When Sorkin tried to bait Bezos about his “historic clashes” with President Trump during his first term in office, Bezos struck a confident chord. “I am actually very optimistic this time around,” said Bezos, referencing the incumbent’s “lots of energy around reducing regulations.” Adding, “He’s more confident. More settled.”
Painting Elon Musk as an insider and hyping the possibility that Musk would use his newfound access to the Oval Office to “harm competition” (Musk’s SpaceX vs Bezos’s Blue Origin), despite Musk’s assurances to the contrary, Sorkin still failed to get a rise out of Bezos. “I believe him,” responded Bezos. “I take him at his word.” (RELATED: Can Musk Dismantle the Deep State?)
Confronted with Sorkin’s repeated attempts to enlist Bezos as a voice of despair and gloom at the prospect of four (more) years of Trump, Bezos remained upbeat and positive. And despite Sorkin’s attempts to weaponize the interview in favor of the “mainstream medium’s” party line, Bezos provided true insights into the workings of his own mind and his own life philosophy.
“If you think you know a public figure, you probably don’t,” said Bezos, when discussing wealth and influence. “Except for Oprah Winfrey,” referring to her daily exposure to the public during her popular TV show.
I particularly enjoyed Bezos’s recounting of an early interview (he couldn’t remember the name of the pundit) when he shared the stage with Bill Gates. The question was how Gates felt about losing the title of “wealthiest man in the World” to Bezos. Bezos answered first, “You are welcome,” before turning to Gates and repeating, “You are welcome.”
When it came to Blue Origin and the potential of Space exploration, Bezos waxed enthusiastic about a potential future with Lunar colonies serving as refueling stations to launch colonists to Mars. Of course, he thought it would be “a couple of generations in the future.” (RELATED: Jeff Bezos to Become First Multibillionaire in Space)
Maybe not.
President Donald J. Trump’s NASA, under the leadership of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the active engagement of Vice President Mike Pence as National Space Council chair, worked with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to break Russia’s monopoly on U.S. astronaut access to and from the International Space Station. Fully expecting a second term, Trump gave the thumbs up to returning U.S. boots on the Lunar surface no later than 2024. We know how that turned out.
The Biden White House lost no time in defunding NASA’s space exploration missions in favor of diversity, employment equity, and “World Peace.” The Moon Mission was diverted to 2026, to 2028, and now? Who knows?
Who knows? Well, I bet Trump knows. And with Vice President JD Vance at the helm of the National Space Council, and tech billionaire, jet pilot, and civilian astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator, you can bet money we’ll be back on track to return to the Moon within the next four years.
And Jeff Bezos wants Blue Origin to play a role.
Why not?
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