Jeff Bezos expresses optimism about Trump's regulatory agenda to elite audience.

The annual New York Times DealBook Summit, held in New York City on Wednesday, attracted media executives, finance professionals, and tech entrepreneurs who were eager to hear from some of the world's most influential people.

Some elites at the event were optimistic rather than hostile.

During an on-stage conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, billionaire Jeff Bezos expressed his optimism, stating that he believed the individual appeared to have a significant amount of enthusiasm in decreasing regulations.

"If I can assist him in doing that, I will do so," Bezos stated. "Because there is an excessive amount of regulation in our country."

The Washington Post, owned by Bezos, faced significant backlash from employees and subscribers after he nixed the newspaper's planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris days before the election.

"It was the right decision," Bezos told Sorkin.

""We made a brave decision, and it was the right thing to do," he said."

Bezos rejected the notion that he didn't want his newspaper to endorse Harris due to Trump's potential grudge against Amazon, the Washington Post, or his other businesses. He also stated that he has been impressed with Trump's actions since his victory over Harris.

Bezos expressed optimism that President Trump is sincere about his regulatory agenda and believes he has a high probability of achieving success, according to a statement.

Sorkin posed the question, "What does he believe about the press being the enemy?"

Bezos stated that he would attempt to persuade Trump against that idea and acknowledged that Trump has undergone significant growth in recent years.

Bezos said, 'I don’t think he’ll see it the same way. Maybe I’ll be wrong.'

""Bezos stated that he is calmer, more confident, and more settled than the first time he was observed," he added."

Bezos wasn’t the only high-profile speaker to discuss Trump.

Bill Clinton, the former president, expressed his disappointment to Sorkin that Biden had repeatedly promised not to pardon his son Hunter Biden, only to eventually do so.

Clinton remarked that Democrats struggle to criticize the media without appearing like a "left-wing version of Donald Trump," with some Republicans embracing anti-press discourse, while liberals generally disapprove of it.

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, expressed confidence in working with Scott Bessent, Trump's Treasury nominee, at an event. Alex Cooper, host of "Call Her Daddy" podcast, revealed that her team had discussions with Trump's campaign ahead of the election, although no interview took place. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, dismissed concerns that Elon Musk's close relationship with Trump could harm OpenAI.

Altman stated that he strongly believes Elon will act ethically and it is un-American to use political power to harm competitors and benefit his own businesses, as he told Sorkin.

Ken Griffin, a GOP donor and CEO of Citadel, began the event by stating that America is "back to business" to a packed crowd at Jazz at Lincoln Center, hours before Bezos took the stage.

Griffin informed Sorkin that for corporate America, the world is a better place now than it was prior to the election.

Some of the world's most influential individuals showcased at the annual DealBook conference in New York City, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and tennis legend Serena Williams.

Among the high-profile attendees of the summit were Chris Licht, Bob Kraft, Bill Ackman, Shayne Coplan, Katie Couric, Jeff Zucker, Lance Armstrong, and Rebecca Minkoff.