Trump to File $15 Billion Defamation Against New York Times, Calls it One of the Worst Newspapers in America

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday said he has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. Trump said the NYT is one of the worst newspapers in America, which has become the virtual mouthpiece of the radical left Democratic Party and has been running a false campaign against him for decades. 

Sharing a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump accused the newspaper of spreading false news. Trump says the newspaper published false news to defame him, including reports of his connection with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to Donald Trump, the NYT has spread countless false news against me, my family, business, the MAGA (Make America Great Again) campaign and the entire country.

The lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Florida refers to several articles and a book written by two journalists of the newspaper and published ahead of the 2024 election. It says that these are 'part of The New York Times' decades-long trend of deliberate and malicious defamation against President Trump.' The lawsuit states, 'The defendants published such statements recklessly, with knowledge of the statements being false, and/or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.'

Earlier, Trump's Republican Party had accused the NYT newspaper of supporting Kamala Harris in the presidential election. During the US presidential election, the picture of Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris was often printed on the front page of the newspaper, which the Republican Party questioned and called the biggest illegal campaign ever.

Trump has also attacked other media institutions, including filing a US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media businessman Rupert Murdoch in July. The newspaper had published a news on Trump's relationship with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

Apart from NYT, Trump has accused many news organizations like ABC, Disney, 60 minutes, CBS of showing false and wrong news. Trump says that all these channels have been running propaganda against him for a long time, which is unacceptable and illegal.

There has been no response from the New York Times on these allegations so far.