February 23, 2026

Susan Rice chooses her words carefully. She does not issue warnings lightly.

As national security advisor, U.N. Ambassador, and one of the nation’s most experienced foreign policy experts, she has spent her career dealing with hard realities and speaking with precision. So when she says something plainly, it is worth paying attention.

Last week, Rice told Preet Bharara on his podcast that “it’s not going to end well” for “the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, [and] the media” that bend the knee to Trump.

“If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back into power, are going to play by the old rules and say, ‘Oh, never mind — we’ll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you violated, all the laws you’ve skirted,’” she added, “I think they’ve got another thing coming.”

Rice is not only precise but, in this instance, entirely correct. Democrats have no intention of playing by the old rules. Indeed, those rules no longer exist.

For example, Donald Trump’s administration has undermined the very idea of independent agencies, and — with the exception of the Federal Reserve — the Supreme Court has obliged.

When it comes to appointing new leaders to agencies such as the FCC or FTC, the next Democratic president will not only be free to ignore traditions of bipartisanship and independence; doing so will also be the default.

The same is true of the Department of Justice and its relationship with the White House. While no Democratic president would abuse power in the way Trump has, the days of a strict wall of separation are over. Optics will no longer constrain action.

Rice is also right to note that, when it comes to private-sector capitulation and collaboration, Democratic memories will be long. As she said, there will be no “forgive and forget.”

Even if this does not lead to direct action, it will be impossible to forget what was done or to ignore the damage. The institutions and individuals who betrayed democratic principles will bear that mark of shame well into the future.

Unsurprisingly, within days of her interview, Trump reacted. In a social media post, he demanded that Netflix “immediately” fire Susan Rice from its board of directors. If it refused, Trump promised, the company would “pay the consequences.”

This is worth pausing to consider.

The president of the United States is publicly demanding that a private company fire a board member because she exercised her First Amendment right to criticize him, his administration and those who have collaborated with it.

He is not claiming that she broke any law or violated any regulation. Trump is not even making the nonsensical fraud allegations for which he has become known.

No, Trump is issuing a pure, unadulterated threat to a corporation about a private citizen because she spoke truthfully about his administration on a podcast. And he is doing so while Netflix is pursuing a high-profile merger that will require regulatory approval from his administration.

There is a certain irony in Trump’s immediate response to Rice’s warning that institutions were folding too easily: he targeted another institution and demanded that it fold. Yet in doing so, he has also given Netflix an opportunity to demonstrate exactly the kind of institutional courage Rice was calling for.

Netflix now has a choice — and it is not a complicated one.

The company can stand behind a distinguished board member who did nothing more than speak truthfully on a podcast. Or it can fire her at the despotic demand of the president of the United States, joining the long and growing list of institutions that have decided that capitulation and humiliation are easier than principle.

Netflix should stand behind Rice. Not as a political act. Not even as a statement about Trump. But because the alternative — removing a board member under direct presidential pressure – would represent a form of institutional surrender with no bottom and no end.

One thing we know for certain: If Netflix folds today, Trump will be back tomorrow. This is the pattern his administration has established with every law firm, every university, every media outlet and every corporation it has targeted.

Capitulation does not satisfy Trump. It encourages him. Each institution that folds makes the next demand more likely and more forceful, not less.

Choices have consequences. That is true for institutions that fold, and it is equally true for those that hold firm.

Netflix’s board is facing that choice right now. So is every other corporation that has not yet been targeted and is watching to see what happens.

Trump’s attack on Rice is, in its own way, a gift. It has given Netflix a clear and public opportunity to do what dozens of other institutions have declined to do: stand up, say no and demonstrate that not every pillar of civil society is too weak and too lacking in self-respect to face Trump’s threats with resolve.

Susan Rice saw this moment coming. She described it plainly, and she was right.

Now, Netflix must decide which side of history it wants to be on.

The right choice is obvious. The only question is whether Netflix has the courage to make it.