Trump v Media: Timeline of US President’s legal disputes against the press
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the American media of being “biased,” “fake” bias and spreading misinformation throughout his political career. With one of his largest lawsuits now potentially targeting the BBC, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reviews his key legal battles with major outlets, including CNN, ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Back in October 2022, then-former President Donald Trump filed a $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, accusing the network of damaging his political prospects. The complaint focused on CNN’s repeated use of the phrase “big lie” to describe his unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Trump argued the term, historically associated with Nazi propaganda, unfairly linked him to that regime. A US district judge ruled the network’s statements did not meet the legal standard for defamation and dismissed the case.
In March 2024, Trump sued the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and anchor George Stephanopoulos over comments made during an interview with U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace, which, Trump argued, harmed his reputation due to the inaccurate characterization. ABC settled the case, agreeing to donate $15 million to Trump’s planned presidential foundation and museum, pay $1 million in legal fees, and add an editor’s note to an article about the interview. Later that year, Trump called for the revocation of broadcast licenses for ABC and NBC.
In October 2024, Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against CBS News over two clips aired from a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. He claimed Harris’s answers on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were edited, interfering with the presidential election. CBS’s parent company, Paramount, settled the lawsuit by paying Trump $16 million on July 1, 2025.
In July 2025, President Trump filed another $10 billion lawsuit, this time against The Wall Street Journal, its publisher Dow Jones & Company, parent company News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and the journalists who wrote a July 17 article. The article reported that Trump had sent a sexually suggestive birthday letter in 2003 to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump denied the claim, calling the letter “fake,” and argued the publication was intended to harm his reputation. The case is currently pending.
In September 2025, Trump filed a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, two of its reporters, and publisher Penguin Random House. He accused the newspaper of acting as a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party and engaging in a decades-long campaign of misinformation. The initial complaint was dismissed by a US district judge for procedural errors, prompting Trump’s legal team to refile an amended lawsuit in mid-October. The case remains pending.
Currently, the BBC is facing a potential $1 billion defamation lawsuit over a misleadingly edited segment of Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech, aired in the Panorama documentary. The clip combined two parts of his speech nearly an hour apart, creating a false impression of his remarks. Trump’s lawyers have demanded a retraction, a public apology, and financial compensation, citing reputational and economic harm.
The controversy prompted the resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and News Chief Executive Deborah Turness. The broadcaster has issued an apology for the misleading edit and removed the episode from its platforms, but it rejected Trump’s request for compensation. A formal legal response to the lawsuit notice is still pending.
