new york- Donald Trump on Wednesday as media executives, financial moguls and tech entrepreneurs gathered in New York City to hear from the world's most powerful people at the annual New York Times Dealbook Summit. President-elect Trump was definitely a top priority.
Some expressed optimism rather than the hostility one might expect from the elites attending the event.
“I'm very hopeful,” billionaire Jeff Bezos told Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin during an onstage conversation, “he's putting a lot of energy into deregulation.” It seems like I have it.”
Bezos continued, “My thinking is, if I can help him do that, I'm going to help him.” “Because there are too many regulations in this country.”
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit that he is “excited” for a second Trump administration. (New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024 Live/Posted by Andrew Ross Sorkin)
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Mr. Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, faced significant backlash from both employees and subscribers when the liberal newspaper withdrew its planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the election.
“It was the right decision,” Bezos told Sorkin.
“I'm proud of the decision we made. We knew there would be a backlash, so it wasn't a cowardly one at all,” he added. “We did the right thing.”
Mr. Bezos dismissed the idea that his paper did not want to support Ms. Harris because Mr. Trump might harbor a grudge against Amazon, the Washington Post, or any of his other companies. He even suggested he likes what he's seen from Trump since his victory over Harris.
“I'm very optimistic that President Trump is taking this regulatory challenge seriously, and I think there's a good chance of success,” Bezos said.
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Sorkin then asked, “What do you think about the idea that you think the news media is your enemy?”
Bezos said he would “persuade them to stop doing that” and said Trump had “grown up” in recent years.
“I don't think he would take the same view. Maybe I'm wrong,” Bezos said.
“What I've seen so far is he's calmer than he was when he started,” Bezos added. “And I felt more confident and calmer.”
President-elect Donald Trump was the center of attention for media executives, financial moguls and tech entrepreneurs at the annual New York Times Dealbook Summit. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Bezos wasn't the only prominent speaker to discuss Trump.
Former President Bill Clinton told Sorkin that he “would have been better off” if President Biden had not repeatedly promised not to pardon his son Hunter Biden if he did it anyway, which also evoked the president-elect. Ta.
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Clinton says Democrats haven't learned to disagree with the press without sounding like a “left-wing version of Donald Trump,” and some Republicans praise anti-press rhetoric However, he noted that liberals largely frown upon it.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also spoke at the event, saying he was “confident” that working with Trump's Treasury nominee, Scott Bessent, would be smooth. Alex Cooper, host of the podcast “Call Her Daddy,” said her team spoke with the Trump campaign before the election (although no interview took place, she did interview Harris). And OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed concerns about Elon Musk's close relationship with Trump. It hurt OpenAI.
Alex Cooper, host of “Call Her Daddy” and founder of the Unwell Network, speaks at the New York Times Annual Deals at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 4, 2024. Speak at Book Summit. ((Photo credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))
“I strongly believe that Mr. Elon will do the right thing, and it is highly unacceptable that Mr. Elon would use his political power to the detriment of his competitors and to the benefit of his own business,” Altman told Sorkin. “I believe it's very American,” he said.
Hours before Bezos took the stage, Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, a Republican donor, told a packed crowd at Jazz at Lincoln Center that America was “going back to business.” ', he started the situation.
“The world is a better world for American businesses today than it was before the election,” Griffin told Sorkin.
The annual DealBook conference in New York City brings together some of the world's most influential people. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and tennis legend Serena Williams were also among the speakers.
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Former CNN president Chris Richt, New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, billionaire hedge fund guru Bill Ackman, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, longtime anchor Katie Couric, and former CNN president Jeff.・Famous attendees included John Zucker, Lance Armstrong, and fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff. of the summit.
