Filed in Florida, the case comes after Trump touted past “victories” over ABC and CBS, which settled defamation claims with multimillion-dollar payouts directed to his presidential library project.

US President Donald Trump has launched a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of waging a decades-long “campaign of lies” against him and serving as a “mouthpiece” for Democrats.
Announcing the move on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Today, 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, becoming a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.”
The president specifically cited the Times’ endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, which he claimed was illegally promoted on the paper’s front page and amounted to “the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER.”
Trump alleged the Times had long published falsehoods about him, his family, his businesses, and the America First movement.
“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,” he declared.
The case comes on the heels of Trump’s previous legal clashes with major media outlets. Earlier this year, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million—earmarked for Trump’s presidential library project—to settle a defamation claim involving anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate comments about the E. Jean Carroll case.
CBS parent company Paramount Global also reached a $16 million settlement over what Trump alleged was a deceptively edited 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Both settlements avoided drawn-out trials, but Trump’s team touted them as proof of “widespread misconduct in mainstream media.”
Published: 16 Sept 2025, 11:14 am IST
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