Washington,USA 16 September 2025 —
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a massive $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of engaging in a decades-long “campaign of lies” against him. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, the President claimed the newspaper has become a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party and has been allowed to “freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long.” The lawsuit was filed in a Florida federal court and also names four of the paper’s journalists and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants.
The lawsuit cites several articles and a book published in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election as evidence of a pattern of “intentional and malicious defamation.” The President’s legal team argues that the publication’s reporting was crafted “with actual malice” to inflict maximum damage on him. The suit seeks to recover damages for the harm done to his business and personal reputation, as well as the value of his brand.
A key point of contention for President Trump is the paper’s endorsement of his political rival, Kamala Harris, during the 2024 presidential election. He claimed that the paper’s placement of the endorsement on the front page amounted to the “single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER.” He also accused the paper of spreading falsehoods about him, his family, his business, and the America First movement.
The lawsuit follows a series of similar legal actions taken by the President against other major news organizations. Earlier this year, ABC News agreed to pay a settlement towards the President’s planned library to resolve a defamation claim. The President’s legal team has framed these lawsuits as a necessary fight to hold the media accountable and to restore integrity to journalism. The filing comes just days after the President threatened to sue the newspaper for its reporting on an allegedly sexually suggestive note and drawing that was given to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit has been widely described by opponents as part of a broader crackdown on freedom of the press and is expected to be a prolonged and contentious legal battle. The New York Times has not yet released a public statement regarding the lawsuit.
Headline Points
* Trump Sues The New York Times: President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against the newspaper, its publisher, and several of its journalists.
* “Campaign of Lies”: The lawsuit alleges a decades-long “campaign of lies” by the publication aimed at defaming the President and undermining his reputation.
* Political Bias Accusation: Trump has accused the paper of becoming a “virtual mouthpiece” for Democrats and of making a massive “illegal campaign contribution” with its endorsement of his rival during the 2024 election.
* Pattern of Legal Action: The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal battles the President has initiated against major media outlets.
