Trump sues New York Times for USD 15 bn, calls it ‘most degenerate’ newspaper
The lawsuit alleges a ‘decades-long campaign of lies’ by the newspaper against the US president, his family, business and the ‘nation as a whole’
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday (September 15) that he was suing The New York Times over its decades-long coverage of him, including reports linking him to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump said he was filing a $15 billion defamation suit against the newspaper, which he described as a “virtual mouthpiece for the Radical Left Democrat Party” engaged in a prolonged “campaign of lies” against him.
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Trump sues New York Times
Posting on Truth Social, Trump claimed the New York Times had engaged in a “decades-long method of lying about your favourite President, my family, business, MAGA and our nation”. He confirmed the lawsuit would be filed in Florida.
"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 the post.
The Republican also argued that the publication's prominent endorsement of Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival in the presidential race, amounted to “the single largest illegal campaign contribution, ever.”
Long-term 'lies'
He further accused the publication of spreading falsehoods about him, his family, his businesses, and the America First and MAGA movements.
Trump claimed the newspaper had been allowed to “freely lie and defame me for far too long” and pledged that such “long-term intent and pattern of abuse, which is both unacceptable and illegal,” would now end with the lawsuit.
"They practiced 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!" he said.
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Liberal media outlets targeted
Placing the New York Times alongside other liberal American publications like ABC and CBS, Trump said they too had practised a systematic form of abuse.
"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.
Trump has already sued The Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch over coverage of the Epstein files. The scandal has reverberated internationally, with the UK withdrawing its ambassador to Washington over alleged connections to Epstein.
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Trump’s past tussles with media
Trump’s legal confrontation with the New York Times follows a series of lawsuits against major US broadcasters. Both ABC News and CBS reached out-of-court settlements with him.
In one case, ABC settled by agreeing to a $15 million donation to the planned Trump Library, stemming from a dispute over wording in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.
Likewise, CBS’s parent company, Paramount, agreed to pay $16 million, also directed to Trump’s library project, to resolve a lawsuit over editorial decisions in a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.