Susan Rice, who served as national security adviser and United Nations ambassador under former President Barack Obama, publicly warned corporations, law firms, universities and media outlets that have aligned with the Trump administration that they will face consequences if Democrats return to power.
Rice made the remarks during an appearance on the “Stay Tuned with Preet” podcast, hosted by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
During the interview, Rice described what she called an “accountability agenda” that Democrats would pursue against entities she believes have supported President Donald Trump and his policies.
Rice invoked a well-known saying to signal her intentions.
“A very prominent public figure, who has served at nearly the very highest levels, once told me … ‘Revenge is best served cold,’ and the older I get, the more I see the wisdom of that,” she said.
Rice stated that her remarks were grounded in conversations she had been having with Democratic leaders across the country.
“They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,” Rice said.
“And I can tell you, Preet, as I talk to leaders in Washington, leaders in our party, leaders in the states, if these corporations think that the Democrats when they come back in power are going to, you know, play by the old rules and [say] ‘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,’ I think they’ve got another thing coming.”
Rice indicated that Democratic leadership across Washington and in state governments share her position on holding Trump-aligned entities responsible.
She further stated that Democrats intend to abandon what she characterized as a more lenient approach to political opponents.
“They’re going to be surprised. Democrats have had a bellyful, and we’re not going to play by, you know, the old set of rules. We’re not going to be suckers … there will be an accountability agenda,” Rice said.
Rice did not offer specific details about the form this accountability agenda would take or which entities would be targeted first.
WATCH:
President Trump responded to Rice’s statements by calling on Netflix, where Rice serves on the board of directors, to remove her from that position.
Trump posted on Truth Social questioning her compensation. “How much is she being paid, and for what???” he wrote, adding that she should be fired or the company would “pay the consequences.”
Rice’s remarks arrived against the backdrop of a career marked by repeated controversy.
In 2012, following the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Rice appeared on multiple Sunday news programs as U.N. Ambassador.
During those appearances, Rice attributed the attack to spontaneous protests over an anti-Islamic video that had garnered only a few hundred views at the time. Subsequent investigations determined the attack had been premeditated and carried out by a terrorist organization, drawing widespread criticism that her public statements had been misleading.
Rice confirmed that the Obama administration had conducted surveillance that captured Trump transition team communications in a 2017 email. That confirmation came after the Obama administration had previously denied that any such surveillance had taken place, Fox News previously reported.
