Trump privately ridiculed Zuckerberg and Bezos after election outreach, book claims

Donald Trump privately derided attempts by leading technology executives to repair relations with him after his return to the White House, according to a forthcoming book that details how some of Silicon Valley's biggest names sought to secure influence with the president.

Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, written by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan and due for release on June 23, recounts a series of encounters involving Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the months following Trump's 2024 election victory.

The book suggests both men made considerable efforts to establish goodwill with the incoming administration. Yet Trump reportedly took pleasure in recounting those exchanges to friends and associates, describing the messages he had received from prominent technology leaders in colourful terms, reports Wired.

According to the authors, Trump repeatedly boasted to guests that executives who had once opposed him were now eager to cultivate a closer relationship. In one conversation with Elon Musk, the president reportedly reflected on the changing dynamic between himself and some of Silicon Valley's most powerful figures.

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“Think of where these guys were in 2016,” Trump is quoted as saying about Zuckerberg and Bezos. “They hated me. They were doing everything they could to knock me down. And look at them now.”

Musk, the book says, responded approvingly, describing the behaviour of his rivals as “First-class groveling”.

Personal gestures and private ridicule

Haberman and Swan describe a number of personal exchanges between Trump and Zuckerberg. One episode involved the Meta boss sending the president a photograph of a handwritten note produced by one of his children, expressing enthusiasm for what the youngster described as the “golden age of America”, a phrase Trump frequently used during his campaign, according to the Wired report.

The book alleges Trump later showed the image to visitors while discussing messages he had received from technology executives.

Another meeting took place shortly after Thanksgiving 2024, when Zuckerberg visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. According to the authors, Trump played a version of the US national anthem performed by imprisoned January 6 defendants, known collectively as the J6 Prison Choir.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Apple boss Tim Cook are also said to have met the president as business leaders sought to adapt to a dramatically altered political landscape ahead of Trump's second term.

Bezos' outreach and Blue Origin ambitions

The book also portrays Bezos as trying to maintain a productive relationship with Trump, while echoing some of the president's criticisms of The Washington Post, the newspaper he owns. During a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024, Trump reportedly complained about the paper's coverage, prompting Bezos to voice frustration with the publication's management and financial performance.

People familiar with Bezos' dealings told the authors that the Amazon founder had engaged with administrations of both parties over the years and intended to do the same with future presidents.

Months later, according to the book, Bezos raised concerns with Trump about the growing dominance of Elon Musk's SpaceX in the US space sector. During a meeting at the Oval Office in July 2025, Bezos reportedly argued that relying too heavily on one contractor posed risks to national security.

The Amazon founder is said to have encouraged the administration to promote greater competition in federal space contracts, a move that could have benefited Blue Origin, which had been struggling to keep pace with SpaceX.

Trump reportedly told Bezos he would consider the proposal, but the plan never materialised. Instead, relations between Trump and Musk improved once again, with Musk resuming political donations to Republican causes and SpaceX later receiving expanded access for its Starship operations.

When approached about the claims contained in the book, White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not address the specific allegations. He said Trump remained committed to working with American businesses and executives to strengthen innovation, bring manufacturing back to the US and support economic growth.

Representatives for Meta and Musk did not comment on the book's account. A spokesperson for Blue Origin also declined to respond.