US President Donald Trump privately mocked efforts by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to build closer ties with him after the 2024 election, according to a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. As reported by Wired, the book claims Trump told his then close-aide Elon Musk that Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos once opposed him but later sought his favour after he returned to power. The authors write that Trump took particular satisfaction in the shift, telling Musk that the two tech billionaires “hated” him in 2016 but were now trying to strengthen their relationship with him.According to the book “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump”, Trump discussed Zuckerberg and Bezos during a conversation with Musk. “Think of where these guys were in 2016,” Trump is quoted as saying. “They hated me. They were doing everything they could to knock me down. And look at them now,” Trump said. The book claims Musk responded by saying: “First-class groveling.”According to Wired, the exchange is one of several examples in the book showing Trump privately commenting on efforts by major technology leaders to improve relations with him after the election.
Mark Zuckerberg allegedly sent messages and family letter to build goodwill with Trump
The book claims Zuckerberg took several steps to build goodwill with Trump. One example involved a text message containing a photo of a letter written by one of Zuckerberg’s children.According to the authors, the child wrote that they “looked forward to the golden age of America,” echoing a phrase Trump frequently used during his campaign. The book also claims Trump later showed some of Mark Zuckerberg’s messages to guests and associates.
Jeff Bezos raised concerns over SpaceX
The authors also describe interactions between Trump and Bezos. According to the book, Jeff Bezos attended a dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024, where the conversation turned to The Washington Post, the newspaper Bezos owns.Donald Trump allegedly told Jeff Bezos: “This Washington Post is really unfair. You’ve got to take better care.”The book claims Bezos responded by criticising the publication’s operations. “The people there are terrible,” he allegedly said. “They don’t listen. My other companies, they listen.”According to the authors, Jeff Bezos raised concerns about SpaceX’s dominance in parts of the US space industry and suggested that government officials encourage greater “contractor diversity” in future space contracts. The book says Trump told Bezos he would consider the proposal.
White House response
As reported by Wired, White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not directly address the claims detailed in the book. Instead, Desai said: “President Trump is committed to working with every American business and business leader to cement America’s innovative dominance, re-shore critical manufacturing, and accelerate economic growth.”The book is scheduled to be released on June 23.