Financial Association News, December 13 (Editor Qin Jiahe) $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ Plans to donate 1 million USD to the inauguration Fund of President-elect Trump, with its founder Jeff Bezos expected to meet him next week at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

Reports revealed that Bezos and his company decided on this donation earlier this week and informed the Trump team. Another informed source indicated that Amazon will also live broadcast the presidential inauguration ceremony through its streaming video service Prime Video, with this in-kind donation also valued at 1 million dollars.

Coupled with Bezos's recent positive attitude towards Trump in public appearances, various signs suggest that this technology giant, which has had a long-standing tense relationship with Trump, is trying to improve its relationship with the new government.

The history of strained relations.

Bezos's relationship with Trump has long been fraught with friction, partly due to Bezos's Washington Post.

After Bezos acquired the Washington Post in 2013, the paper published editorials supporting the Democratic candidates and criticizing Republicans during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Trump has also repeatedly complained about the paper's coverage of his presidency, calling it "a lobbying tool for Amazon."

In December 2015, Trump posted on Twitter: "If Amazon has to pay fair taxes, its stock price will crash and collapse like a paper bag. The Washington Post's scam is saving it!" This was one of his many criticisms of The Washington Post and Amazon.

Trump has repeatedly posted critiques of The Washington Post and Amazon.

In response, Bezos stated he would send Trump to space using a rocket from Blue Origin, his private aerospace company.

In 2019, Amazon filed a lawsuit accusing Trump of exerting improper influence over decisions by "publicly and privately attacking multiple times," resulting in Amazon losing a $10 billion Cloud Computing contract with the USA Department of Defense. The contract was later obtained and was canceled by the Department of Defense in July 2021 on the grounds that "the contract cannot meet the needs."$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$Acquired, and was canceled by the Department of Defense in July 2021 on the grounds that the "contract could not meet the requirements."

Change of Attitude

Bezos has recently shown a noticeable change in his public attitude toward Trump, demonstrating a starkly different stance from before.

After Trump survived an assassination attempt in July, Bezos praised on Social Media, "Our former president showed extraordinary grace and courage in the face of gunfire. We are relieved for his safety."

After Trump was elected, Bezos congratulated him on his "extraordinary political comeback". On December 4, at a conference for the New York Times, Bezos expressed optimism about Trump’s second presidential term. "So far, what I see is that he is calmer, more confident, and steadier than the first time."

The Washington Post, which has consistently aligned with the Democratic Party, also canceled the publication of an editorial supporting Harris in October. Bezos emphasized the media's independence in his response, stating that endorsement would create a sense of bias.

Regarding Bezos, Amazon was sued for antitrust by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last year, while Blue Origin needs to frequently interact with the future government to obtain government Orders.

Musk, the founder of Blue Origin's main competitor SpaceX, has now become Trump's 'first buddy'. He has contributed over $0.2 billion to Trump's campaign and is set to serve as the Secretary of Government Efficiency in the new administration. Trump's spokesperson even stated that Trump and Musk are 'great friends'.

Technology companies have long been targets of Trump's criticism. This Tuesday, Trump nominated Andrew N. Ferguson to serve as the FTC chairman. Ferguson then stated that he aims to 'end the animosity of large technology companies towards competition and freedom of speech.'

In light of the harsh measures that Trump 2.0 may bring, other Technology giants, along with Bezos, are also attempting to ease their relationships with Trump.

According to reports, this Wednesday, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ the company confirmed to the media that its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has instructed the company to donate 1 million dollars to Trump's inauguration Fund. Previously, Zuckerberg also publicly attended a dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

Editor/rice