Obama’s former national security advisor Susan Rice has reportedly threatened companies loyal to the president
US President Donald Trump has branded former White House staffer and Netflix board member Susan Rice “racist” over her reported threats to companies that support the president. He has demanded the streaming service fire her “immediately.”
Rice, who is black and a vocal Trump critic, served in senior roles under three Democratic administrations, including as national security advisor and UN ambassador under Obama. She rejoined Netflix’s board in 2023 after working for the Biden administration.
Trump’s outburst followed a post by right-wing influencer Laura Loomer highlighting Rice’s remarks on a podcast last week that warned “entities” that “take a knee” to Trump to expect to be “held accountable” if Democrats return to power.
“Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, immediately, or pay the consequences,” Trump responded on Truth Social on Sunday, calling Rice a “political hack” with “no talent or skills.”
Trump has repeatedly called himself the “least racist person,” despite long-running accusations over his rhetoric.
Trump’s post comes days after his official account posted a video about the 2020 election that ended with an AI-altered clip of Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces superimposed on apes dancing to ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. The video drew widespread condemnation, including from some Republicans. The White House called the backlash “fake outrage,” but removed the clip, blaming a staffer. Trump distanced himself and refused to apologize, saying, “No, I didn’t make a mistake,” and claiming he had not seen the post.
Some analysts say Trump’s post urging Netflix to fire Rice was an attempt to interfere in the firm’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Critics have noted that Paramount Skydance – whose CEO David Ellison is the son of Trump donor Larry Ellison – has mounted a hostile bid for WBD.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos dismissed Trump’s demand to fire Rice. “He likes to do a lot of things on social media… This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” Sarandos told BBC Radio 4, adding the merger is being handled by US and global regulators.
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