Amazon licenses Melania Trump doc as Bezos warms to president-elect

Amazon Prime Video has secured the rights to a new documentary focusing on Melania Trump, the former and incoming First Lady. The announcement comes amid reports that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is forging closer ties with President-elect Donald Trump, including a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund.

An Amazon spokesperson revealed, “Amazon Prime Video has exclusively licensed an upcoming documentary film for both theatrical and streaming release that will give viewers an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at First Lady Melania Trump.” The film, directed by Brett Ratner and produced by Fernando Sulichin of New Element Media, began production in December 2024 and is expected to release in late 2025.

The news of the documentary follows a Wall Street Journal report about Bezos’ donation and a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Bezos, once criticized by Trump, now appears to be warming relations with the president-elect. This development also comes after Amazon’s contentious history with Trump, including a lawsuit alleging that political interference cost Amazon a $10 billion Pentagon contract.

In a related controversy, Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Washington Post—owned by Bezos—resigned after her satirical cartoon depicting tech billionaires, including Bezos, kneeling before Trump was blocked from publication. Telnaes criticized the decision, which the Post’s editorial page editor defended as avoiding redundancy with other planned content.

The Post’s decision to withhold a planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris also stirred internal dissent, leading to several resignations from its editorial board and a significant loss in digital subscriptions. Despite denials from Post publisher Will Lewis, the episode underscores the complex dynamics between Bezos, his media empire, and the evolving political landscape.