In a March 2025 interview, President Donald Trump praised Jeff Bezos’s stewardship of The Washington Post, saying Bezos was “trying to do a real job” with the paper. The remark followed two separate changes at the Post: Bezos’s new direction for its opinion section and a newsroom restructuring announced by executive editor Matt Murray.
What did Trump say about Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post?
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Sharyl Attkisson on the Sunday news program Full Measure. In its March 17, 2025 report, GeekWire quoted him saying: “I’ve gotten to know him, and I think he’s trying to do a real job,” and, “Jeff Bezos is trying to do a real job with The Washington Post, and that wasn’t happening before.” The report points to the interview video at the 14:20 mark. GeekWire’s report and interview reference
Trump also said he did not think the media’s overall treatment of him had changed so far in his second term, while he saw a shift among technology companies. His praise was an assessment of Bezos, not evidence that the Post’s changes improved its journalism, readership, finances, or public trust.
What changed in the Post’s opinion section?
On February 26, 2025, Bezos announced that the opinion section would focus on “personal liberties and free markets” and would not publish opposing views on those pillars. He said: “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.” He also said, “Today, the internet does that job.” These statements described the opinion section, not a newsroom-wide reporting policy. The Washington Post’s report on the announcement
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Opinion editor David Shipley resigned after Bezos offered him the opportunity to remain under the new direction. Then-publisher and CEO William Lewis said the change was not about supporting a political party, describing it as “being crystal clear about what we stand for as a newspaper.”
How was the newsroom restructuring different?
Executive editor Matt Murray separately announced newsroom changes, reported by Axios on March 10, 2025. The national desk would be divided into broader national reporting and politics-and-government coverage. Business, technology, health, science, and climate teams would be grouped into a new department. Murray said the goal was to broaden coverage and reach, rely less on cyclical political news, and give priority to digital products and reader engagement. Axios’s report on the newsroom restructuring
Murray said the newsroom plans ran in parallel with the opinion changes but were not explicitly connected. He told Axios: “I want to make sure there are a few areas that are equally staffed and strong to make sure we’re always putting a strong foot forward and that we’re not just the politics paper, even though that’s important to who we are.” He added: “Jeff is aware of my plans but they’re my plans.”
Who owns the Post, and what is its later leadership context?
Bezos is the newspaper’s owner. The Post’s corporate history records that an agreement to sell the newspaper and other newspaper-division assets to Bezos was announced in August 2013 and completed on October 1, 2013. The Washington Post is not Amazon; Bezos’s ownership of the newspaper should not be confused with the company he founded. The Post’s corporate history
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn a September 9, 2026 report, The Post said Jeff D’Onofrio had been named publisher and CEO after seven months in the interim role, succeeding Lewis. The paper reported that a Post spokesperson said it was on track to break even in 2026 and had sold 300,000 subscriptions so far that year. Those are company-reported figures, not independent measures of the impact of the 2025 changes. The Post’s report on D’Onofrio’s appointment
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Trump’s praise does—and does not—show
Trump’s comment is news about his view of Bezos and the paper. It does not establish whether readers approved of the opinion policy, whether the newsroom changes broadened the audience, or whether either move affected revenue or trust. The available reporting does not establish those outcomes or show that later financial figures resulted from the 2025 changes.
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