‘It’s really dangerous to demonize the media’: Jeff Bezos criticises Trump’s war on the press

Amazon
CEO Jeff Bezos at the Economic Club of Washington DC’s “Milestone
Celebration Dinner.”
REUTERS/Joshua
Roberts

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos criticised President Trump’s
  antagonistic approach to the media on Thursday, saying that it
  is “really dangerous to demonize the media” because it erodes
  democracy.
• Bezos said that elected officials have to get used to
  and even welcome the fact that they are subject to media
  scrutiny.
• Bezos owns the Washington Post, which is among the
  numerous news organisations the President has decried as “fake
  news.”

Jeff Bezos criticised President Donald Trump’s approach to the
media on Thursday, saying it is “dangerous” to demonize one of
the fundamental pillars of democracy.

“It is a mistake for any elected official in my opinion […] to
attack media and journalists. I believe that it’s an essential
component of our democracy,” he said, speaking at the Economic
Club of Washington on Thursday.

“There has never been […] a public figure who has liked their
headlines. It’s okay, it’s part of the process. If you’re
president of the United States or governor of a state or
whatever, you don’t take that job thinking you’re not gonna get
scrutinized. You’re gonna get scrutinized and it’s healthy.”

Bezos then turned more specifically to Trump and how he deals
with the media.

“What the president should say is, ‘This is right. This is good.
I am glad I am getting scrutinized, and that would be so secure
and confident,” he said.

“But it’s really dangerous to demonize the media. It’s dangerous
to call the media lowlifes. It’s dangerous to say they’re the
‘enemy
of the people.'”

Trump
referred to the press as “the enemy of the American people”
for the first time last February, opening a new front in his
ongoing media battle.

You can watch Bezos talking about attacks on the media at
18:35 in this video:

 

Despite Trump’s antipathy towards the press, Bezos did not seem
threatened. “We are so robust in this country, the media is gonna
be fine. We’re gonna push through this.”

Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, which Trump has
previously attacked as “fake news.” Trump has also come after
Amazon in the past,
claiming it exploits the US Postal Service. More recently
Trump said that Amazon, along with Facebook and Google, could

represent a “very antitrust situation.”