The top White House spokesperson gloated at news that Jeff Bezos is steering the Washington Post toward the MAGA perspective.
Steven Cheung, who is Donald Trump’s official mouthpiece, shared his delight on X at the multibillionaire owner’s announcement Wednesday that the paper’s opinion pages will focus on two conservative pillars: “free markets and personal liberties.”
While re-sharing Bezos' message, Cheung added a popular GIF of the Grinch’s face contorting into a mischievous grin.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on Cheung’s post or the development at the Post.
Bezos’ statement on X, which was also emailed to staff, added, “We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.”
He declared himself “of America and for America, and proud to be so,” adding that the paper’s opinion editor, David Shipley, had resigned in protest.
The new editorial slant comes as Bezos, who once fashioned himself as a hands-off owner, spurred widespread criticism, staff resignations, and a mass flight of subscribers for his apparent deference to Trump.
Trump has long voiced his disdain for the Post.
This past summer, he said that the paper was “on its last leg” and “absolutely blowing up with Fake Stories.”
“They ought to clean up their act,” he added. “Start writing the TRUTH, and maybe they’d get some of their Readers back, considering that they’ve lost over 50% in just a short period of time.”
During the lead-up to the election, Bezos killed an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent. He was also one of several tech CEOs to contribute $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, which seemed to earn him a front-row seat to the ceremony. In December, he dined at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and Elon Musk.
Back in October, after blocking the editorial, Bezos had defended himself with a vow to protect the paper’s independence.
“I challenge you to find one instance in those 11 years where I have prevailed upon anyone at The Post in favor of my own interests,” he said. “It hasn’t happened.”
The development on Wednesday has already prompted outcry from the paper’s reporters.
“Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post’s opinion section today—makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there,” the paper’s top economics reporter, Jeff Stein, wrote on X. “I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know.”
In a separate email to staff, Post CEO Will Lewis praised Bezos’ “recalibrated content strategy for our opinion section,” according to Semafor.
“I will be so very proud for the Post to be known for its two key pillars,” Lewis wrote.
