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US President Donald Trump has called on Netflix to sack former Democratic national security official Susan Rice from its board or “pay the consequences”, as the streamer battles to acquire Warner Bros Discovery.
Trump’s comments mark a return to the fray between Netflix and Paramount Skydance to acquire the legendary Hollywood studio, having previously said he would stay out of it. Both proposed acquisitions would have to be approved by federal regulators.
The US president weighed in on the issue at the urging of Maga influencer Laura Loomer.
“Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences. She’s got no talent or skills — Purely a political hack!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, reposting an X post by Loomer urging him to “kill the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger now”.
Rice served as national security adviser and US ambassador to the UN under former president Barack Obama. She was also on former president Joe Biden’s domestic policy council.
Rice served on Netflix’s board from 2018 to 2020, and was reappointed in 2023.
“HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what???”, Trump added of Rice.
The former Democratic official told former US attorney for the southern district of New York Preet Bharara’s podcast on Thursday that it “would not end well” for companies that “take a knee to Trump” should her party regain power in Washington.
“They are going to be caught with more than their pants down”.
She predicted Democrats would bring “an accountability agenda” and said companies should “preserve their documents” and “be ready for subpoenas”.
“If these corporations think that Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules . . . I think they’ve got another thing coming”, she said.
In a lengthy social media post on Saturday, Loomer, who has no formal role in the administration but convinced Trump to purge US national security officials last spring, wrote: “Does Netflix stand by their Board Member threatening half of the country with weaponized government and political retribution for choosing who they wanted to vote for as President?”
“This is as anti-American as it gets, and Netflix is proving everyday they are an anti-American, WOKE company”, she added.
She said Netflix’s acquisition of WBD would benefit Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama and flood the service with “positive messaging” for Democrats.
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WBD reopened sale talks with Paramount this week, giving David Ellison’s media group until Monday to make its “best and final” bid to top Netflix’s agreed $83bn takeover or end its pursuit of the studio. Paramount has been rebuffed repeatedly by the WBD board, which agreed an $83bn deal with Netflix.
Paramount, bankrolled by Ellison’s father Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle and a Trump donor, has launched a hostile bid for WBD.
WBD owns some of the world’s most prized film and TV properties, such as Harry Potter and Friends, along with the HBO Max streaming service and its programming including Game of Thrones and The White Lotus.
Paramount’s own $108bn bid cleared a critical US antitrust hurdle on Friday, saying it had complied with a second review process by the US Department of Justice. Meanwhile, Netflix is facing an early-stage review by Trump’s justice department to assess whether its deal to buy the studio would be anti-competitive.
Additional reporting by Christopher Grimes in Los Angeles
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