And, if you’ll let me set the stage first, I’ll explain why I’m convinced the court case will lead to a successful presidential campaign for Jeff Bezos in 2024. The alleged personal vendetta supposedly has a lot to do with The Washington Post’s negative coverage of President Trump – and, of course, Jeff Bezos owns the Post. Bezos may not need a big government payout – his company is among a handful of businesses valued at over a trillion dollars and he’s one of the richest people in the world – but he desperately wants one. He’s reportedly jealous of Elon Musk’s ability to talk the Trump administration and local governments around the US into big-ticket, huge budget deals and yearns to land one of his own. And that brings us to this seemingly silly lawsuit that’s attempting to get the president to sit down for a deposition. Were this pipe-dream of a legal stipulation to occur, it would mean that President Trump would have to appear in person to answer questions about his alleged feud with Jeff Bezos. Without spending too much time on legalese and jargon, the odds of a sitting president getting deposed in court in this kind of case are so close to zero as to make it pointless to speculate any further. It’s not going to happen. Trump’s being accused of purposefully influencing a $10 billion Defense contract to satisfy a personal vendetta. Arguably, that would be high treason. At a minimum, it’s something a democratic country would consider illegal. A company spokesperson told CNBC: Instead of running against Trump in the 2020 race, he’ll run against Trump’s phantom in 2024. Just like Trump’s continued to vilify Hillary Clinton at every rally he’s held since being elected the first time, Bezos could “Trump” his political rivals both Democrat and Republican by making his campaign all about Trump. It’s a strategy that’s worked extremely well for The Donald. Well, that and digitally gerrymandering the election using Facebook, Twitter, and Cambridge Analytica. However, Jeff Bezos isn’t exactly Hillary Clinton – his tech savvy and resources might make a bigger difference than other democratic candidates – assuming of course Bezos runs as a Dem. I’m thinking he might try to pull a Ross Perot and resurrect the idea of a strong third-party candidate. If Bezos’ spends the next four years drumming up his feud with Trump during speaking engagements and media appearances, we’ll get the opportunity to see if the ‘smartest person in the room’ can win against the biggest bully. It could set the stage for a “Bezos versus the field” election atmosphere in 2024. And, in a world where hearts and minds are won online, it’ll be interesting to see how the CEO of one of the world’s largest AI companies does in that arena against the Tweeter in Chief. Then again, Bezos has also gone on the record saying he was too happy with his life and running his companies to consider the presidency. So maybe it’s a scenario too outrageous even for US politics. Let’s hope so. What’s left of US democracy may not withstand the threat we’d face with the head of the company that owns Ring and provides law enforcement with facial recognition software getting himself elected just to stick it to his enemies. You’re here because you want to learn more about artificial intelligence. So do we. So this summer, we’re bringing Neural to TNW Conference 2020, where we will host a vibrant program dedicated exclusively to AI. With keynotes by experts from companies like Spotify, RSA, and Medium, our Neural track will take a deep dive into new innovations, ethical problems, and how AI can transform businesses. Get your early bird ticket and check out the full Neural track.
