Former Washington Post employee Glenn Kessler accuses Jeff Bezos of trying to ‘survive’ Trump rather than save the paper.

A former employee of The Washington Post is taking aim at its owner Jeff Bezos, accusing him of prioritizing his survival in the Donald Trump era over saving his paper.

In an op-ed published Tuesday titled “A Billionaire’s Surrender,” former Washington Post analyst Glenn Kessler began by highlighting Bezos’ worth, noting that he was worth $25 billion in 2013 when he first bought the paper, and is now worth “almost $250 billion” as major layoffs are expected at the newsroom.

“Bezos is a businessman, and the Washington Post is not a charity, so I understand the idea of ​​wanting to cut losses. The newsroom should be independent,” Kessler wrote on his Substack.

“But even if the loss is still about billions of dollars a year – a figure announced a few years ago – for someone as rich as Bezos, that will mean that he will have to close this place … in 2,500 years.”

He continued, “I don’t think the layoffs have much to do with saving money. Amazon, after all, just spent $75 million to buy and develop a documentary about Melania Trump.”

Kessler, who took a voluntary buyout last summer after being at the paper for 27 years, recalled being part of a small group of Post reporters who had lunch with Bezos following the 2016 election and how Bezos was asked if he had any concerns about Trump seeking revenge as president.

“Bezos admitted that Trump would think any negative story about him was ordered by Bezos, because that’s what Trump would do if he owned a newspaper. But he said that wasn’t our problem. We should have written better stories; he could take the heat if Trump got mad,” Kessler wrote.

“Those were comforting words at the time. As far as I know, Bezos never interfered with any news coverage during his 13 years as owner – not even stories critical of Amazon or coverage of Bezos’ personal life, let alone politics. For many years, he didn’t even seem to be very involved with the editorial page, although, as owner, he could dictate any opinion page he wanted.”

Despite Trump’s hostility toward the Post, Bezos was “unbowed,” according to Kessler, pointing to his then-new slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness” and increased staff size during Trump’s first term in office.

“He seemed to embrace the idea, let’s just say, that he was a steward of the public purse,” Kessler told students. “Threats at the presidential level disappeared with the defeat of Trump in 2020, although Joe Biden was not a fan of the technology industry. But when Trump ran again and the Democrats were on the ropes, Bezos’ calculations changed. He could not afford Trump’s first term; the second would be dangerous, especially since Elon Musk, his main business, accepted the appeal.”

“I thought the billionaires had enough ‘f–your’ money to do what they want. But in Trump’s democracy, and his campaign of revenge, the billionaires lose a lot,” he added.

Kessler went on to say that Bezos “appeared to care less about The Post,” pointing out how the newspaper’s main rival, The New York Time, made smart business decisions like acquiring The Athletic and Wordle while the billionaire “pays more attention to his new love, Lauren Sánchez, whom he married last year in Venice for $50 million.”

“Without a job, Bezos seems to have accepted the dirty math: laying off workers and cutting the sails of a once great news organization sends a message to an audience of one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, even if this decision destroys the lives of talented journalists and editors,” Kessler wrote before blaming “Trump” for Amazon’s hard work. at Trump’s inauguration and Bezos’ Mar-a-Lago tour.

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for Bezos and the Washington Post for comment.

The criticism comes as Washington Post employees prepare for a brutal round of layoffs, which could happen as soon as this week.

Reports indicate that hundreds of employees may be let go as a result of the cuts and many divisions may be axed, including sports and outdoor teams.

Bezos angered workers in 2024 when he abruptly fired Kamala Harris’ White House endorsement of the paper, after the editorial board declared Trump the worst president in modern history.

The surprise decision just before the election caused a huge loss of subscribers and a lot of staff resigning.

Bezos later sparked further outrage when he announced that he was revamping its editorial pages to promote “free markets and personal freedom.”