There's a lot to be said for reconciliation. And it's especially wise when your foe is about to become the world's most powerful person.
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire Amazon founder and owner of the The Washington Post, on Thursday tweeted his congratulations to Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election, saying he would give the one-time reality TV star "my most open mind" and wishing him success.
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The respectful message was a change of tune after a long feud between the two businessmen.
Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump. I for one give him my most open mind and wish him great success in his service to the country.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 10, 2016
It began in December, when Mr Trump launched a tirade against Mr Bezos, accusing him of using The Post to influence politicians and reduce how much tax Amazon paid.
On Twitter, Mr Trump said the newspaper was "a deduction" that gave Bezos "power to screw public on low taxation" and that Amazon would "crumple like a paper bag" if it ever had to pay fair taxes.
Mr Trump later banned reporters from the "phony and dishonest" Post from his events and threatened to use the presidency to pursue Mr Bezos and his companies.
"If I become president, oh do they have problems", Mr Trump told a rally in February.
![Jeff Bezos said he would have an "open mind" towards Donald Trump's presidency.](/web/20161113080352im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/6/x/6/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsmyv6.png/1478850187067.jpg)
"They're going to have such problems."
Trump on Amazon: "If I become president, oh do they have problems. They're going to have such problems". • $AMZNhttps://t.co/208DgKJM8o
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) February 26, 2016
![Donald Trump, seen here meeting President Barack Obama, said Amazon would have "big problems" if he won the election.](/web/20161113080352im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/m/t/y/g/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsmyv6.png/1478931717398.jpg)
The @washingtonpost, which loses a fortune, is owned by @JeffBezos for purposes of keeping taxes down at his no profit company, @amazon.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
If @amazon ever had to pay fair taxes, its stock would crash and it would crumble like a paper bag. The @washingtonpost scam is saving it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
And after Mr Trump's shock victory, problems have indeed started to appear: Amazon's shares have lost 5 per cent of their value.
The conciliatory tweet by Mr Bezos, who had previously offered to fire Mr Trump into space in one of his Blue Origin rockets, did nothing to stop Amazon shares tumbling another 3 per cent on Thursday.
Finally trashed by @realDonaldTrump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. #sendDonaldtospace https://t.co/9OypFoxZk3
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 7, 2015
But the e-commerce giant is not the only tech stock to fall while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to a record high amid investor optimism about his plans to cut taxes, ease regulation and boost infrastructure spending.
Facebook, Netflix, and Google's parent company Alphabet have each fallen at least 3.9 per cent, while Apple was down 2.8 per cent. Mr Trump has repeatedly vowed to force Apple to make its products in the US and called for a boycott of its products until it met government demands to unlock a terrorist's iPhone.
Some market watchers suggest the sector has been hit because Mr Trump's policies on overseas trade could hurt tech companies, while others cited fears the incoming president would retaliate against Silicon Valley for donating 114 times more to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
So it's unclear how genuine Mr Bozos' tweet was. But some have suggested his wording - "I for one give him my most open mind" - was a tongue-in-cheek reference to this famous scene in The Simpsons.