A hedge fund manager is drawing attention online for claiming President Donald Trump is using taxpayer money to “repay” Jeff Bezos after Amazon released a controversial documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.
Spencer Hakimian, founder of the hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, posted on X:
“BREAKING: TRUMP HAS BEGUN REPAYING JEFF BEZOS FOR THE MELANIA MOVIE WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS.”
Alongside the post, he shared a video clip showing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth greeting Jeff Bezos with a handshake during a site visit, which some critics interpreted as symbolic of the administration’s close ties with tech moguls.
High-Profile Pentagon Visits Raise Eyebrows
Hakimian’s post came shortly after a USA Today report revealed that Hegseth recently visited Blue Origin, Bezos’ space company, as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour.
The trip also included a stop at SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. The tour is part of the Pentagon’s broader campaign to revamp how defense contracts are awarded.
“No more business as usual, which I know, Mr. Bezos, is music to your ears,” Hegseth said during his visit, highlighting a shift toward more private-sector involvement in defense projects.
Blue Origin has already secured billions in contracts from the Pentagon, including deals to develop nuclear-powered spacecraft and space-based laser communications.
Musk’s SpaceX recently landed a $739 million contract for missile tracking and already holds a $5.9 billion contract for Space Force launches through 2029.
The Melania Movie Controversy
Much of the outrage stems from the $75 million Amazon spent on the Melania documentary, $40 million for production, and another $35 million on promotion. Critics have blasted the film as overt propaganda.
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times described it as a “glossy, curiously impersonal” portrait, while The Guardian called it a “medieval tribute to placate the greedy king on his throne.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Melania Trump received over $28 million personally from the production deal. The project was reportedly pitched by Trump himself during a December 2024 dinner with Bezos at Mar-a-Lago.
Ted Hope, who helped start Amazon’s film division, told The New York Times: “How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe? How can that not be the case?”
Robert Reich echoed this sentiment, writing, “Of course it’s an outright bribe,” calling for Bezos to be prosecuted under 18 U.S. Code § 201, which criminalizes bribing a public official.
“If America still had a Department of Justice, Bezos would be indicted for bribery of a public official pursuant to 18 U.S. Code § 201.”
“By spending a tiny amount of money to buy the rights” to the documentary, Greg Williams, director at the Project on Government Oversight, said, Bezos “potentially gets a much larger return” in the form of Blue Origin’s billions of dollars in defense contracts and other possible government windfalls.”
A Pattern of Cozy Relationships
Bezos and Musk both dined with Trump shortly after his 2024 election victory.
Amazon later donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
After reports in April 2025 that Amazon would disclose Trump tariff impacts on its site, Trump allegedly called Bezos personally. The company reversed its decision shortly after.
Hegseth has also announced the integration of Grok, an AI chatbot owned by Musk’s X platform, into Pentagon systems, despite controversy surrounding its content moderation and safety concerns.
Watchdog groups say the close relationships between tech billionaires and the Trump administration present a growing risk of unchecked influence.
Williams said the risk of corruption in the Pentagon’s dealings with defense contractors is “structural and unavoidable.”
Minimal Financial Return, Massive Political Questions
Despite the enormous promotional push, Melania opened with just $7 million in ticket sales.
Based on typical box office trajectories and revenue splits, Amazon may recover only $14 million, a fraction of its $75 million outlay.
Reich and others argue that the goal was never profit, but access.
For now, critics like Hakimian are using social media to spotlight what they see as a clear-cut case of pay-to-play politics, and they’re not being subtle about it.
IMAGE CREDIT: ”Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.