Media

Bezos Chides Trump: ‘Really Dangerous To Demonize The Media’

REUTERS/Mike Segar

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Jeff Bezos chided President Donald Trump Thursday night, saying, “It’s really dangerous to demonize the media.” The CEO and owner of the Washington Post claimed such attacks impair freedom of the press.

As Politico reports, Bezos was speaking to a crowd at Washington’s Economic Club.

“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,” Bezos told the audience.

Bezos suggested an alternative that few could imagine Trump saying.

“What the president should say is, ‘This is right. This is good. I am glad I am getting scrutinized,'” he said. “But it’s really dangerous to demonize the media. It’s dangerous to call the media low-lifes. It’s dangerous to say they’re the ‘enemy of the people.'”

Bezos is himself a frequent target of the president, who objects to the coverage he receives in the Post, as well as the way Amazon conducts its business. Trump has repeatedly said the mammoth internet retailer is laying waste to traditional commerce and circumventing the U.S. Postal Service.

Bezos told the crowd that he wasn’t going to defend Amazon against Trump’s accusations but that he would speak up for the Post.

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