Trump files $15 billion defamation lawsuit against New York Times
US President Donald Trump has filed a multi-billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the paper of being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party and engaging in what he described as a decades-long campaign of misinformation, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times, one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country, becoming a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party. I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The president paid special attention to the newspaper’s coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris during the last US election cycle, criticizing the decision to feature its endorsement prominently.
“Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF! The ‘Times’ has engaged in a decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole,” he argued.
Trump also referenced other lawsuits he has supported against major media outlets. Earlier this year, he sued The Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, for $10 billion over a report linking his name to a 2003 birthday greeting for Jeffrey Epstein. In July, he announced a settlement with CBS, Paramount, and 60 Minutes, claiming a payout of more than $36 million.
“I am PROUD to hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible, as we are doing with the Fake News Networks such as our successful litigation against George Slopadopoulos/ABC/Disney, and 60 Minutes/CBS/Paramount, who knew that they were falsely ‘smearing’ me through a highly sophisticated system of document and visual alteration, which was, in effect, a malicious form of defamation, and thus, settled for record amounts. They practiced this longterm INTENT and pattern of abuse, which is both unacceptable and illegal,” Trump stated.
According to Trump, the new lawsuit will be filed in the state of Florida. He argued that the paper had crossed a line with years of false reporting and that the time had come to put a stop to it.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW! The suit is being brought in the Great State of Florida,” he said.
It is not the first time the president has attempted to sue The New York Times. In 2023, a judge dismissed a $100 million lawsuit he filed while out of office over the newspaper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into his tax records. More recently, he suggested that broadcast licenses for major television networks ABC and NBC should be revoked.
