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Comment by snowwrestler | Hacker News Reader

When the National Enquirer contacted Bezos in 2019 about compromising pictures, he went public rather than play along with what he called blackmail and extortion. It cost him a lot of embarrassment and probably leverage in his divorce. But he turned the tables and put his opponents on the defensive.

Obviously he does not feel that he can do so now, with so much of Amazon’s business in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. That is a shame because if he is not willing to go public with the extortionate threats he is facing, who will?

It seems like a classic prisoners dilemma; if everyone stands up to corruption together, they can create the most protection. But who wants to go first?

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Why do you jump to the conclusion that Bezos is being extorted? It's also possible that he just thinks some of these editorial positions are bad for business. WaPo was a failing business when he bought it (and doesn't seem to be doing great yet), so it's not unreasonable for a new owner to make changes.

He bought it 12 years ago and just now got around to reading the opinion pages, is that your theory?

It's certainly strange, because his paper was clearly anti Trump for most of his tenure as owner.

And yet, he actually started cracking down on the editorial board before the election.

Maybe his position evolved over time?

Maybe he saw the same polling lots of people saw at that time?

My favorite theory is he was so unhappy with what liberals did to his LOTR series he became a republican.

In reality its probably because his number 1 focus is Blue Origin and he needs government support for this.

The purpose of an op-ed section is to present opinions independent from the editorial positions. So it can’t be the editorial positions as such that he’s worried about.

>Obviously he does not feel that he can do so now, with so much of Amazon’s business in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

Why do you assume that Bezos, or any of these tech giants, are anti-Trump? Have you considered that, like a huge chunk of the rest of the country, they actually support what's happening (to varying degrees)?

Why is it the left feels that their beliefs are the "normal" ones?

> Why is it the left feels that their beliefs are the "normal" ones?

Why is it that all the most insane politician worshipers (left and right) feel that their tinfoil-hat extremist beliefs are "normal"? The lunatics have been increasingly "running the asylum" for quite a while now, and more and more cult-followers been jumpin' on-board with the insanity year after year. It's like watchin' a slow-motion train-wreck.

Left: people should be able to live decent lives

Right: what about our billionaires and the free market

America doesn't really have a left AFAIK.

Centrist: why can't we all just get along?

That "huge chunk of the country" was a little less than half of the subset of Americans who actually voted.

The left's beliefs are the "normal" ones. Remember, this fact is why the right is so afraid of the cultural influence of "city dwellers" (read - leftists) and the popular vote versus the Electoral College, which exists to bias Presidential elections in favor of rural culture. Roe v. Wade was repealed despite widespread popular support. The majority of Americans favor nationalized education and healthcare, LGBTQ rights and gay marriage.

I mean, you're right that Bezos probably isn't anti-Trump, no capitalist is really anti-Trump, but like a lot of people you seem to be poisoned by Trumpist propaganda. Trumpism has never been a majority view in the US, it has always been a tyranny of the minority.

I’m sure he loves the antitrust case against Amazon as much as he loved losing the JEDI contract the first time around.

Yes, it’s clear that a lot of people are for a party that now openly sieg-heils on stage (it’s not just Musk, he started a trend)

This is useful information to have, and I, for one won’t be forgetting it.

Bezos is 100% Pro-Trump.

Bezos is 100% whatever keeps him rich.

Bezos is 100% what doesn't have him waking up dead.

I think it's expected for majority of the rich to be. Trump's world is one where money can (sometimes quite directly) buy things that they couldn't, or were difficult, to buy before.

And my perception might be very skewed, but to me it seems majority of the rich got there by not prioritizing moral goals and universal good above all, so this kind of world is more desirable.

In 2016, Bezos was anti-Trump and the Democratic candidate for president (Hillary Clinton) got nearly twice as much money from rich people as the Republican candidate for president (Donald Trump). It's not a sufficient explanation to say that the Trump or Republican ideology fundamentally appeals to rich people more.

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