Trump Announces $15 Billion Lawsuit Against New York Times Over Defamation Claims
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to sue The New York Times for $15 billion over what he describes as defamation and libel, escalating his long-running feud with the publication.
Trump made the declaration on Monday in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, accusing the newspaper of spreading falsehoods and acting as a political tool for his rivals.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops NOW!” Trump wrote.
The former president specifically criticized the newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, claiming it demonstrated clear political bias. He noted that the endorsement was prominently placed “dead center on the front page,” calling it an unprecedented move.
Trump said the lawsuit would be filed in Florida, a state where he maintains strong political support. As of Tuesday, The New York Times has not publicly commented on the planned legal action.
This is not the first time Trump has taken legal action against the outlet. In 2023, a judge dismissed a previous $100 million lawsuit in which Trump accused the Times and his niece, Mary Trump, of conspiring to obtain and publish his tax records in a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation. The court ruled that the case failed on constitutional grounds.
Trump also suffered another legal setback last year when a $475 million defamation suit against CNN was thrown out. That case centered on Trump’s claims that the network had compared him to Adolf Hitler.
In his latest post, Trump expanded his criticism beyond the Times, accusing several media outlets and television programs of using “a highly sophisticated system of document and visual alteration” to smear his reputation.
The new lawsuit underscores Trump’s ongoing battle with major U.S. media organizations, which he has repeatedly labeled as biased and unfair toward his political agenda.
