Key Points:
Trump filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times in a Florida district court
He accused the publication of spreading false information about him in the run-up to the 2024 election, while endorsing Kamala Harris
He has filed similar lawsuits against ABC News, CBS, and most recently the Wall Street Journal
US President Donald Trump sued The New York Times for USD 15 billion on Monday, 15 September 2025. Trump filed the defamation and libel lawsuit in a district court in Florida.
The lawsuit identifies multiple articles and one book published by the newspaper leading up to the 2024 US Presidential election, alleging that these were “part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump.” It names two journalists in its case, saying they negligently published false statements, either knowingly “and/or with disregard of their truth or falsity”.
In a post made to Truth Social, his own social media platform, Trump announced the lawsuit, stating: “I have the Great Honor 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 … I am PROUD to hold this once respected “rag” responsible.”
He justified his decision, saying, “The “Times” has engaged in a decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole … The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!”
See Also: Step Back and See How All Trump’s Madness Fits Together
Trump’s move comes a week after The NYT published an article pointing out similarities between Trump’s old signature and the signature branding a lewd note written to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. The note, previously used as evidence in the case against Jeffrey Epstein, was made public by Congress recently and picked up by The NYT on 8 September 2025. The next day, 9 September, Trump threatened to sue The New York Times.
Trump has filed a USD 10 billion defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal as well, for a similar story linking him to the criminal note.
These are the latest in a series of lawsuits filed by Trump against “Fake News Networks”, as he calls them in his post. He recently reached out-of-court settlements with ABC News and CBS for USD 15 million and USD 16 million, respectively. He had attacked ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos for inaccurately claiming that Trump had been found liable in a rape case while on-air. Meanwhile, he had accused the CBS program 60 Minutes of airing a ‘deceptively tampered’ interview with Kamala Harris during her presidential candidacy. Both companies paid their settlements directly to Trump’s upcoming library project.
Trump has made similar allegations against The NYT in his recent post, saying it is “a virtual “mouthpiece” for the Radical Left Democrat Party. I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER. Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!” [Rh/DS]
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