President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times and four of its journalists.
Filed in a US District Court in Florida, the suit alleges that the newspaper acted as a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party and engaged in a long-running pattern of false and defamatory reporting about Trump, his family, business ventures, and political movements including America First and MAGA.
The filing cites multiple articles, including coverage questioning Trump’s qualifications for the 2024 presidential election and reporting on his connections to financier Jeffrey Epstein.
It also targets the book Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, written by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig and published by Penguin Random House.
The lawsuit claims these publications damaged Trump’s reputation, business interests, and the value of his media company stock.
Trump announced the lawsuit on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling The New York Times “one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the history of our country” and vowing to stop what he described as its “lies, smears, and defamation.”
A spokesperson for The New York Times described the suit as “meritless” and said it was an attempt to “intimidate independent reporting.” The newspaper added that it will continue its reporting “without fear or favor” and defend journalists’ First Amendment rights.