MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., May 20, 2026 — Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos praised President Donald Trump in an exclusive CNBC interview Wednesday, calling him a more mature leader than during his first term and saying he deserves credit for his record in office.
“Trump has lots of good ideas,” Bezos told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin from the Blue Origin rocket factory in Merritt Island, Florida. “He’s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due.”
Bezos also described Trump as a changed man compared to his first term. “I think he is a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,” he said.
Framed as Nonpartisan
Bezos was careful to frame his praise of Trump within a broader nonpartisan posture, noting he has worked productively with every president since Bill Clinton — including Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden — and intends to continue doing so regardless of party.
“We need our business leaders to provide input into the administration, regardless of who the president is,” Bezos said. “I’m on the side of America. And that’s where business leaders should be.”
The comments came as Sorkin pressed Bezos on whether his relationship with Trump — which has included a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund, a seat in “billionaire row” at the January 2025 inauguration, and Amazon’s release of a documentary about first lady Melania Trump — amounted to an effort to curry favor with the White House.
Bezos pushed back on that characterization. “I’ve worked with every president since Bill Clinton,” he said. “And I hope to work with the next couple of presidents, too, if they’ll have me.”
A Relationship With the President
When Sorkin asked Bezos directly whether he has a relationship with Trump, Bezos answered simply: “Yes.” He added that he planned to advocate with the administration for his policy proposals — particularly his call to eliminate income taxes for lower-earning Americans — describing it as “part of our job as citizens and as business leaders to share our ideas.”
Bezos said he has worked with Trump on areas of shared interest and described the relationship in practical terms. “You know, it’s part of our job as business leaders to provide input,” he said. “Trump has lots of good ideas and he has done a lot.”
The interview was conducted at the Blue Origin rocket factory in Merritt Island, Florida, where Bezos employs 14,000 people and has invested billions of dollars in space infrastructure. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and remains its largest financial backer, funding the company through sales of Amazon stock.
Context: The Bezos-Trump Relationship
The relationship between Bezos and Trump has evolved significantly since Trump’s first term, when Trump repeatedly attacked Bezos and Amazon on social media and accused The Washington Post — which Bezos owns — of being a political weapon against him. Bezos donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural fund, attended the inauguration alongside other prominent tech executives, and has since maintained a working relationship with the administration.
Trump has a significant financial relationship with Blue Origin through NASA contracts, including a multi-billion dollar lunar lander contract under the Artemis program. Blue Origin also competes for national defense contracts alongside SpaceX, Boeing, and other aerospace companies — making the relationship between Bezos and the administration one with direct commercial stakes on both sides.
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