President Donald Trump is calling on Netflix to remove former US Ambassador and national security advisor Susan Rice from its board, sharpening his criticism of the streaming giant as it seeks to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery amid antitrust scrutiny.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump demanded that Netflix "immediately terminate" Rice from its board of directors, "or pay the consequences," amplifying a message from right-wing activist Laura Loomer. Loomer had urged action against Rice, criticizing her role at the company and pointing to recent remarks she made about Trump and corporate America.
Rice, who served in senior roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, recently warned companies against aligning themselves too closely with Trump. Speaking on Thursday on the "Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara" podcast, she said corporations that "take a knee" to the president and break the law should expect consequences, predicting an "accountability agenda" if Democrats take back power.
The clash comes as the streaming giant pursues a high-stakes merger that will require approval from the Department of Justice's antitrust division.
Trump in December said that Netflix had a "very big market share," so its potential acquisition of Warner Bros. "could be a problem."
However, in February, he said he "shouldn't be involved" in the deal and would defer to his Department of Justice to investigate the proposed merger, Business Insider previously reported.
Earlier this week, during an appearance on Puck's "The Town" podcast, Netflix's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, said that Trump hadn't asked for political concessions during discussions of the possible deal, but was focused on bringing jobs back to Hollywood after years of lower production.
Representatives for Netflix and Rice did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
