Amazon Has Found the Easiest Way to Influence the Trump Administration

Amazon is paying Melania Trump a hefty amount of cash to produce a documentary about her.

Puck reports that the media and retail giant is releasing a documentary about the once and soon-to-be first lady as part of a whopping $40 million deal—a staggering amount of money for any figure, let alone one who commands relatively little public interest. It will be directed by Brett Ratner, who hasn’t made a Hollywood movie since being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in 2017.

The deal includes the documentary, which will be released in theaters and later on Prime Video, and a short documentary series of two to three episodes to follow up on the film. Amazon outbid rivals Disney and Paramount for streaming rights to the project, and Trump stands to receive a hefty amount of cash in the deal.

The Amazon deal raises questions about some of executive chairman Jeff Bezos’s decisions in the last few months. In late October, the Bezos-owned Washington Post refused to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election, spiking an editorial that would have backed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Following Trump’s election victory, the billionaire posted a fawning message of congratulations on X, hailing Trump’s “extraordinary political comeback.” Last month, Bezos joined the many wealthy donors to Donald Trump’s inauguration committee by pledging to contribute $1 million, giving him the perk of six tickets to pre-inauguration events, including a black-tie ball, a candlelight dinner with Trump and his wife, and a reception with Cabinet nominees.

Did Bezos make all of these gestures because of the streaming deal he made with the president-elect’s wife? Or are these overtures and the deal part of a new strategy from Bezos to avoid being attacked by Trump? Either way, Bezos and Trump don’t seem to be enemies anymore.