Trump mocked Zuckerberg and Bezos over fawning texts, book reports
10 reported
A new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan reports that President Donald Trump mocked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for seeking to ingratiate themselves with him after the 2024 election. According to the book, titled "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump," Zuckerberg texted Trump a photo of a letter from one of his grade-school-age children praising Trump's "golden age of America" slogan. Bezos, during a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, denigrated The Washington Post to Trump and described the newspaper as one of his worst financial investments. The book states that weeks after meeting with Trump, he told associates that Zuckerberg and Bezos were "kissing my ass" and showed guests their texts. Trump is quoted as telling Elon Musk, "Think of where these guys were in 2016… They hated me. And look at them now," to which Musk replied, "First-class groveling." The book also reports that Bezos later sought a business favor from Trump for his space company Blue Origin, but the request did not succeed.
What’s reported
The book "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan is set for release on June 23.
Zuckerberg texted Trump a photo of a letter from one of his children who wrote they "looked forward to the golden age of America."
Bezos, over dinner at Mar-a-Lago, denigrated The Washington Post to Trump and called it one of his worst financial investments.
Trump told associates that Zuckerberg and Bezos were "kissing my ass" and showed guests their texts.
Trump is quoted telling Musk, "Think of where these guys were in 2016… They hated me. And look at them now."
Musk replied, "First-class groveling."
Bezos sought a business favor from Trump in July 2025 for Blue Origin, suggesting Trump direct his deputy defense secretary to seek "contractor diversity" for space contracts.
Trump told Bezos he would consider the request, but it never came to pass; Trump later expanded access for SpaceX's Starship operation.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not directly respond to the book's reporting.
A person familiar with the Bezos episodes said Bezos has worked with every president since Bill Clinton.
Key figures
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder
Donald Trump, President
Maggie Haberman, New York Times reporter
Jonathan Swan, New York Times reporter
Elon Musk
Kush Desai, White House spokesperson
Steve Feinberg, deputy defense secretary
Lauren Sánchez, Bezos' then-fiancée
Sydney Sweeney, actress
Sources: Wired
