Trump says he’s bringing $15bn lawsuit against New York Times

Trump has targeted other media organisations with legal action since returning to the presidency.

President Donald Trump said he’s filing a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the paper of serving as a “mouthpiece” for the Democrats.

In a Truth Social post, Trump pointed to the Times’ endorsement of former presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The amount he’s seeking exceeds the market capitalisation of The New York Times, which currently stands at about $9.65 billion.

He provided no other specific examples of the Times’ coverage, but said that the newspaper had “engaged in a decades-long method of lying about your Favourite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole.”

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The suit is being brought in Florida, Trump added. The Times didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Trump has targeted other media organisations with legal action since returning to the presidency. In July, Paramount Global reached a settlement with Trump over a lawsuit that alleged election interference by the company’s CBS News network when it showed two different versions of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October.

In December, Trump reached a settlement with Walt Disney Co’s ABC where the TV network agreed to give $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation or museum. That case stemmed from allegations that one of the network’s anchors had defamed the president-elect while characterising a past court verdict against him.

Trump referenced those settlements in his latest post, claiming “longterm 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!” Trump wrote.

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