US President Donald Trump made the announcement on Monday (local time) that he is suing The New York Times for what he referred to as decades of defamatory reporting.
Trump disclosed that he has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper for being a "virtual mouthpiece for the Radical Left Democrat Party" and for engaging in an extended "campaign of lies" against him.
"Today, I have the Great Honour 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," Trump said in a post on X.
The Republican head further contended that the Times' reported endorsement of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, on its cover page constituted "the single largest illegal campaign contribution, ever."
Trump accused the newspaper of publishing fake news on him, his relatives, his companies, and the America First and MAGA movements, saying the reporting harmed "the nation as a whole."
"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," he said.
Doubling down on his denunciation, Trump complained that the Times had been allowed to slander him without consequence for far too long. "They practised this long-term intent and pattern of abuse, which is both unacceptable and illegal. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The libel action against The New York Times follows a series of courtroom battles Trump has engaged in with large American broadcasters. ABC News and CBS settled on previous occasions. ABC settled with a $15 million payment to go to the proposed Trump Presidential Library resulting from litigation related to civil findings in the case of E. Jean Carroll. Similarly, Paramount, CBS’s parent company, settled a lawsuit concerning the production of a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris, paying $16 million toward the library project.
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