Kathrine Frich
Power dynamics change quickly when a new leader takes charge.
People who once stood as fierce rivals often find themselves eager to make peace. But those dramatic shifts in loyalty do not always go unnoticed behind closed doors.
Behind their backs
Donald Trump spent weeks privately mocking two of the biggest tech billionaires on the planet.
The details emerge in a forthcoming book called Regime Change, obtained early by Wired and cited by Raw Story. The project comes from journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The authors report that Trump laughed about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg. He bragged to associates that the powerful executives were shamelessly begging for his favor.
“You would not believe the texts I got from these tech guys. I’ve got to show you,” Trump reportedly told his visitors.
Golden age letters
Zuckerberg supposedly sent Trump a picture of a handwritten letter from his young child. The grade-schooler wrote that they “looked forward to the golden age of America.”
Zuckerberg visited the Florida estate just before Thanksgiving. Trump welcomed him by playing a national anthem recorded by the J6 Prison Choir.
Trump also shared his amusement with Elon Musk. “Think of where these guys were in 2016,” Trump said, according to the book. “They hated me. They were doing everything they could to knock me down. And look at them now.”
Musk simply replied, “First-class groveling.”
Complaining about staff
Bezos faced similar mockery after a private dinner in December 2024.
The Amazon founder complained about journalists working at his own newspaper. He called Washington Post employees “terrible.”
“They don’t listen,” Bezos complained, according to the authors. “My other companies, they listen.”
Months later, Bezos visited the Oval Office to ask for lucrative Pentagon contracts for his Blue Origin company. Trump promised to consider the pitch but ultimately handed the expanded access to SpaceX instead.
Sudden shifts
Both billionaires share a history of clashing with the president. Zuckerberg famously banned Trump from social platforms after the Capitol riot in 2021, and Bezos openly criticized his behavior back in 2016.
Those relationships transformed after the recent election. Amazon and Meta each handed out a million dollars to the inaugural committee.
Zuckerberg also eliminated fact-checking programs at Meta and hired Trump loyalists to senior roles.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai ignored the specific claims. “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,” Desai stated.
Sources: Raw Story, Wired, The New York Times
