Trump calls for the firing of Netflix board member
Trump calls for the firing of Netflix board member
Netflix executive Susan Rice came under fire from the president over the weekend, but the streamer’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos didn’t waiver.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos knows he has a rocky hill to climb to get his company’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery across the finish line, but he isn’t bowing to presidential pressure. President Trump took to his social media accounts over the weekend to demand the firing of a Netflix board member who made critical comments about him, but Sarandos has thus far refused to bow to the pressure.
Key Details:
- Do it or else: President Trump told Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice or “pay the consequences” in a Truth Social post.
- What goes around: Rice made recent comments that companies that have “bent the knee” to Trump will regret it.
- Sarandos deflects: Netflix’s co-CEO did not seem fazed by Trump’s demands when asked for comment.
On Saturday night, President Trump logged onto his Truth Social account to declare Netflix board member and former foreign policy advisor to Presidents Biden and Obama a “political hack” with “no talents or skills.” He directed Netflix to fire Rice or “pay the consequences.”
During a podcast appearance last week, Rice told former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara that corporations that have “bent the knee” to the president will not be looked upon favorably by the public, especially when election time rolls around.
Netflix is, of course, in the midst of a highly public attempt to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, a transaction that has become politically charged. The deal is now the subject of an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice, and Netflix’s main competition for WBD’s assets, Paramount Skydance, has multiple ties to Trump and his allies.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos didn’t seem too fazed by the president’s rant when asked to respond during an interview on the “BBC Today” program on Monday. Sarandos called the transaction a business deal, not a political deal, but when pressed on Trump’s comments about Rice, he said, “Yeah, he likes to do a lot of things on social media.”
Trump has told Sarandos personally he plans to stay out of the transaction, and let the regulatory process take its course. But the president could not resist the urge to take a few shots at what he considers a political enemy over the weekend, and Netflix is now on the defensive as a result.
Netflix has already answered a laundry list of questions from Congress about its deal to buy WBD, and the president himself stands to benefit financially if the deal goes through. However, the demand to fire Rice has thrown yet another wrench into the transaction, and where it all ends up is currently hard to predict.
Netflix
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