Trump warns Netflix of ‘consequences’ unless it pulls top Democrat from board

Donald Trump has told Netflix to remove the Democratic foreign policy expert Susan Rice from its board or “face the consequences”, while the streaming platform is locked in an extraordinary corporate battle to take control of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).In comments posted on his Truth Social platform, the US president described Rice – who served as national security adviser to Barack Obama and UN ambassador and White House adviser under Joe Biden – as a “political hack” and accused her of having “no talent or skills”.Trump’s comments herald a fresh intervention in the takeover battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance for the studios and streaming businesses of WBD only weeks after promising not to get involved.He said in an interview with NBC News in early February that the justice department would handle the takeover of WBD, having insisted previously he would be involved in reviewing the deal. Any takeover of WBD will have to be approved by federal regulators.On Saturday, however, Trump wrote of Rice: “HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what???”Rice was a member of Netflix’s board from 2018 to 2020, before leaving during the Biden administration. She rejoined in 2023 and sits on the company’s nominating and governance committee.She appeared on a podcast in recent days, during which she said that corporations, law firms and news organisations that showed loyalty to Trump would be held accountable if the Democrats returned to power.As part of his intervention, Trump reposted a post on X by the rightwing influencer Laura Loomer, who called Rice and Netflix “anti-American” and accused her of “threatening half of the country with weaponised government and political retribution for choosing who they wanted to vote for as president?”Trump’s latest comments come with a couple of days left for Paramount Skydance to table its best and final offer for WBD to compete with Netflix’s existing offer.Paramount, which is controlled by the billionaire Ellison family, has tried to secure a $108.4bn (£80bn) takeover of WBD with a bid backstopped by a personal $40bn guarantee by Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle.Under the Netflix deal, the streaming company’s vast library would take control of WBD’s prize assets including Warner Bros, the studio behind franchises including Harry Potter, Superman and Batman, as well as HBO, home to shows including Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Succession.The tie-up between Netflix and WBD has faced a backlash from US politicians and figures in the entertainment industry, with some voicing concerns that the resulting media giant would control almost half of the streaming market.Netflix has been approached for comment.