Trump demands Netflix fire board member Susan Rice

On Saturday, President Donald Trump publicly demanded that Netflix immediately fire board member Susan Rice, warning that the streaming company will “pay the consequences” if she remains. In a post on social media, Trump targeted Rice, who joined the Netflix board of directors in 2018. He characterized the former ambassador to the United Nations as “racist, Trump Deranged” and labeled her a “political hack” while questioning her talent, skills, and compensation, asking how much she is being paid and for what.

Trump’s demands follow comments Rice made during an appearance on a podcast hosted by Preet Bharara. During the episode, Rice argued that corporations that “take a knee”—an idiomatic expression for submitting or yielding to authority—to the Trump administration will be “held accountable” when Democrats eventually return to power. Rice stated that if these companies believe future Democratic administrations will play by the old rules and forgive them for the people they fired, the policies they violated, or the laws they skirted, they have another thing coming.

The public pressure on Netflix arrives at a highly sensitive moment for the company, which is currently seeking approval from federal regulators—the government bodies responsible for antitrust and merger reviews—for its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Far-right activist Laura Loomer criticized Rice’s comments, claiming that the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger would result in a “streaming monopoly” in which the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, would hold a significant stake. Trump shared a screenshot of Loomer’s post alongside his demands.

While Trump did not outline the specific consequences Netflix might face, the transaction remains subject to federal oversight. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reportedly met with Trump before the acquisition was publicly announced. Following that meeting, Trump described Netflix as a great company but noted that the merger represents a lot of market share, so we will have to see what happens. Trump previously made a similar demand last fall, calling on Microsoft to fire its president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, who was also targeted by Loomer. Monaco remains at Microsoft.

Why it matters

Trump’s public pressure campaign against a corporate board member creates significant political risk for Netflix, particularly as the company navigates the sensitive federal regulatory approval process for its Warner Bros. acquisition.