Trump Demands Netflix Fire Obama Aide Susan Rice From Its Board ‘Or Pay the Consequences,’ Spelling Trouble for Warner Bros. Bid

Netflix’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery has hit another snag as President Trump is demanding that the streaming giant fire a board member and former Obama adviser, Susan Rice, after she made threatening comments about conservatives facing legal consequences once Democrats return to power. The latest drama is fueling speculation about whether Netflix is preparing to walk away from its deal. During a recent interview on a podcast hosted by a former federal prosecutor turned anti-Trump commentator, Preet Bharara, Ms. Rice warned corporations that “take a knee to Trump” that they will be “held accountable” whenever Democrats return to power.”“If these corporations think that Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to play by the old rules … I think they got another thing coming,” Ms. Rice said. “We are not going to play by the old set of rules when these guys are playing by a different set of rules.”Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, “Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences.”The episode was headlined ‘No Forgiveness.’ YouTube“She’s got no talent or skills – Purely a political hack! HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what??? Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote.He shared a message from conservative commentator Laura Loomer, an informal advisor. Loomer’s post criticized Netflix as an “anti-American, WOKE company.”Netflix’s chief executive, Ted Sarandos, seemed to dismiss the post, telling the BBC’s “Today” program, “This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal. This deal is run by the Department of Justice in the U.S. and regulators throughout Europe and around the world.”“[Mr. Trump] likes to do a lot of things on social media,” he said. But the message seemed to be a warning sign for Netflix’s acquisition attempt, which needs regulatory approval from the Trump Administration. It came as the Justice Department opened an antitrust investigation into the Netflix deal. The probe is a standard process for such acquisition attempts. However, there have been lingering questions about whether the Trump Administration would greenlight Netflix’s deal with WBD due to concerns about its left-wing content, which has irked conservatives for years.President Obama (L) talks to Susan Rice, the American national security advisor(C) during a closing session with David Cameron, U.K. prime minister (R) at the Nuclear Security Summit April 1, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty ImagesMr. Trump has said that any WBD deal should include the sale of CNN. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the president does not believe the scenario that would occur under a Netflix deal, where CNN would be spun off under a separate company, a bundle-up of Warner Bros’ troubled cable networks, run by WBD’s cost-cutting current chief financial officer, Gunnar Wiedenfels, is acceptable. Amid concerns about Netflix’s ideological leanings and potential for market dominance, there is also a rival bid from the Ellison-family-controlled Paramount. The Ellisons have been seen as aligned with Mr. Trump, though he has repeatedly distanced himself from the family due to his frustrations with Paramount’s subsidiary, reliably liberal CBS News, and its continued harsh coverage of his administration. Paramount is hoping to pull off a hostile takeover of WBD after it lost the bidding war to Netflix.For weeks, WBD brushed off Paramount’s offer, as its board members expressed a desire to stick with Netflix.Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Committee is meeting to examine Netflix’s $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and its impact on competition in the entertainment industry. Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesHowever, last week, executives at WBD said that they had decided to open a seven-day window to consider Paramount’s bid. Insiders told Variety that they expected Paramount to raise its offer again to sweeten the deal, which has led to speculation that Netflix may abandon its effort altogether, rather than respond with a higher offer. On Friday, Mr. Sarandos seemed to signal that that is a possibility, saying that Netflix has a “rich history” of being “willing to walk away and let someone else overpay for things.”“The next move is up to somebody else. We have a signed deal with Warner Bros. Discovery,” Mr. Sarandos told Variety. “If someone wants to make a better deal, which the Warner Bros. Discovery board has said has not happened yet, then we’ll see what happens down the road… But the core of it is, you know, we’re super-disciplined buyers, as you probably know, we have a reputation for such, so I’m willing to walk away and let someone else overpay for things. We have a rich history of that.”While Netflix’s deal is facing Justice Department scrutiny, Paramount said last week that an antitrust waiting period for its $108.4 billion offer for WBD had expired, which it claimed meant that there would be “no statutory impediment” to its acquisition. However, the Justice Department could still investigate the deal and even sue to stop it.

Trump Demands Netflix Fire Obama Aide Susan Rice From Its Board ‘Or Pay the Consequences,’ Spelling Trouble for Warner Bros. Bid

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