Netflix boss dismisses Trump's demand for Susan Rice to be fired

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos brushed aside a demand by President Trump that the company fire former Democratic diplomat Susan Rice from its board.

Sarandos was discussing Netflix’s tentative deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s sprawling movie and television studio, a potential $70 billion acquisition that has raised antitrust concerns.

“He likes to do a lot of things on social media,” he told BBC Radio 4 on Monday. “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.”

His comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.

The deal comes as Paramount Skydance, another major media conglomerate owned by Trump ally David Ellison, mounts a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s entire portfolio, including its Hollywood and linear television assets.

Trump has called into question Netflix’s growing market share. Over the weekend, he wrote on his Truth Social platform the company should fire Rice or “pay the consequences.”

The president was responding to claims made by far-right internet influencer Laura Loomer that Rice was pushing an agenda of “retribution” if Democrats regain control of the government.

Rice on Thursday warned entities that “take a knee” to Trump to expect to be “held accountable” if Democrats return to power.

“If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to, you know, play by the old rules, and, you know, say, ‘Oh, never mind. We’ll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all, you know, the laws you’ve skirted.’ I think they’ve got another thing coming,” Rice told Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, on the “Stay Tuned with Preet” podcast.

Sarandos, during a recent hearing about the deal on Capitol Hill, beat back accusations of left-leaning political bias at the company and argued YouTube remains Netflix’s largest competitor in the streaming space.

The deal would need to be approved by Trump’s Department of Justice, which last week ousted its top antitrust attorney at a time of a flurry of deals in the media, tech and business sectors.

Netflix recently granted Warner Bros. Discovery an extended window to continue talks with Paramount about a potential competing deal, which is expected to conclude this week.