Bezos says Trump should be 'glad' of media scrutiny

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Amazon's Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said on Thursday that the US President Donald Trump is wrong to "attack the media" while discussing when company would announce the location of its second headquarters.

Bezos privately owns the Washington Post, which has been among the media that have been the frequent target of broadsides from Trump.

When asked about Trump's repeated criticism of both the Washington Post and Amazon, Bezos called it a "mistake" for any elected official to "attack media and journalists."

What Trump "should say (of the criticism) is, 'This is right, this is good. I am glad I am being scrutinized,' and that would be so secure and confident," Bezos said. "But it is really... dangerous to say that they are the enemy of the people."

Jeff Bezos, president and CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, speaks at the Economic Club of Washington DC's "Milestone Celebration Dinner" in Washington, US, Sept. 13, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"The media," Bezos added, "is going to be fine. We're going to push through this."

Trump has described the Washington Post as Amazon's "chief lobbyist." The Washington Post's top editor has said that Bezos has no involvement in its news coverage.

Bezos said he has had discussions with Trump but declined to elaborate. The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.

As for its second headquarters, Amazon has announced 20 finalists in North America for its planned investment of five billion US dollars and 50,000 jobs. At a speech before the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday, Bezos did not offer any favorites for the project.

(Top image: Jeff Bezos, president and CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, speaks at the Economic Club of Washington DC's "Milestone Celebration Dinner" in Washington, US, Sept. 13, 2018. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Reuters