Good evening, and happy Friday.

Welcome back to In The Room, my biweekly private email on the inner workings of American media. Tonight, in the wake of the Biden-M.B.S. fist bump seen ‘round the world, we turn our attention to the White House’s fraught relationship with Jeff Bezos, Fred Ryan and The Washington Post.

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During the election cycle, Biden projected the image of a wise older statesman who had seen a thing or two in his day, and knew how to lead with valor. Sure, he’d always been well-known for the occasionally regrettable line, like frontrunning the Obama administration on gay marriage, but that’s also part of what made Biden so likable. Even in his late 70s, polished after decades in the Senate, he shot from the hip, albeit with an inordinate amount of dignity and honesty. Some White House aides may have been privately furious when Biden announced in a March speech that Putin “cannot remain in power,” but many within his base heard the echoes of the guy they voted for. It may have reminded them, perhaps, of when then-candidate Biden once said he vowed to make Saudi Arabiaa “pariah” on the world stage...