President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the paper of being a virtual “mouthpiece” for the Democrat Party and making an illegal “campaign contribution” in 2024 to opponent Kamala Harris.
Trump announced the lawsuit late Monday on Truth Social and said it would be brought in Florida. This marks yet another legal action taken by the president against a major media organization after forcing settlements with ABC News and CBS News over the past year.
“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. I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER,” he wrote. “Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!”
Trump accused the Times of engaging in a decadeslong campaign of “lying” about him, his business, family, and the MAGA movement.
“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. They practiced this 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! The suit is being brought in the Great State of Florida. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
In the lawsuit, Trump said he had to overcome “persistent election interference from the legacy media,” that was led by the Times.
“All across our country, Americans from a wide array of backgrounds saw the truth about him and voted accordingly—the same truth that the New York Times refused to recognize as it continued spreading false and defamatory content about President Trump,” the suit states.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Florida’s Middle District. The named defendants are the New York Times Company, reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, and Penguin Random House, which published “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” which was authored by Craig and Buettner.
The New York Times endorsed Harris in 2024, no surprise in that its editorial board leans sharply to the left and has not endorsed a Republican for the White House since 1956. In its explanation, the board began by panning Trump as dangerously unfit rather than praising Harris.
“It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump. He has proved himself morally unfit for an office that asks its occupant to put the good of the nation above self-interest,” the board wrote.
The 85-page lawsuit called the endorsement “deranged” and also said “Lucky Loser” was a false and defamatory book. In 2023, a judge dismissed a lawsuit that he brought against the New York Times in 2021 for its prior reporting on his finances and claims he’d engaged in suspect tax maneuvers.
Trump has already secured eight-figure settlements over suits he filed against ABC News and CBS News over the past year.
