Did Jeff Bezos start doing hallucinogenic drugs when he moved from Seattle to Miami, or did he have moments of delusion all along?
Hey, this is nothing personal. I briefly crossed paths with the Amazon founder at the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, D.C. This was toward the end of the Obama administration and Vice President Joe Biden was the guest of honor. Like all the other men at this venerable, if anachronistic, annual gathering of media and politicians, Bezos and I were dressed in white tie and tails, looking good, standing at the bar to order fresh drinks. Bezos was approachable and friendly (and shorter than I expected). There was nothing pretentious about him, even though he was, at the time, the richest human on the planet. He even complimented me on my cartoons. Bezos exuded the Seattle nice that usually comes before the Seattle ice.
I am sure Bezos thinks of himself as a nice guy who does grand and good things for the world, although, like other tech lords who started out as idealistic whiz kids and now sit on a mountain of money, Bezos may have a blind spot when it comes to the damage created by his wildly successful entrepreneurial endeavors (just ask independent bookstore owners, Amazon warehouse workers and about 300 laid-off Washington Post employees). And he certainly has a blind spot (or has chosen to be blind) when it comes to President Donald Trump.
Case in point: In a recent CNBC interview, Bezos said Trump was “more mature, more disciplined” in his second term in office. He went on to assert that the president “has lots of good ideas, and he’s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due.” These comments are what makes me wonder if my Gridiron drinking buddy is dipping into the psilocybin and ayahuasca.
Since he did not elaborate on his praise of Trump in the interview, I have a few questions for Mr. Bezos:
In what way is Donald Trump, an erratic, bullying, impulsive, vindictive, self-absorbed, babbling man-child, more mature and disciplined? What are his good ideas and what has he been right about?
Was sending poorly trained goons into American cities to hunt down and abuse immigrant families and gun down citizens one of the good ideas?
Was letting Bezos’ rival, Elon Musk, cripple and demolish vital government services with no significant savings to the federal budget a good idea?
Was threatening to invade Greenland and alienating European allies a good idea?
Was tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a massive ballroom to feed his own vanity a good idea?
Was turning the Justice Department into a weapon of personal revenge against political opponents a good idea?
Was decimating science research and health programs a good idea?
Furthermore, was Trump right that slapping poorly conceived and randomly applied tariffs on imports would magically boost the American economy?
Was he right that attacking Iran with no strategic plan would be an escapade that would only take a few days?
Was he right that picking cabinet officials from among the ranks of podcasters and Fox News hosts would bring excellence to government operations?
Was he right that he could use the power and influence of his office to enrich himself and his friends? (Well, actually, Trump was right about that one.)
Oh, I could go on and on, but I really am curious. If not the ones I have noted, what are Trump’s great ideas and accomplishments for which he deserves credit? I’d like to meet Jeff Bezos for a drink the next time he is in Seattle and he can enlighten me – or confess that he was just sucking up to Trump and did not mean any of what he said.
Either way, I’ll buy the first round. I’m not rich, but I’m nice.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
View other syndicated cartoonists at: st.news/cartoons
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