Trump Drops Bombshell: Vows To Sue The New York Times For $15 Billion

Donald Trump’s war on major news organizations has continued, this time with a $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times. Trump announced the suit late Monday night on Truth Social.

“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,” Trump says in the Truth Social description of the suit.

“I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER. Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!,” the president claimed.

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The New York Times’ reporting, and especially its endorsement of Kamala Harris and its placement within the newspaper, are protected speech under the First Amendment.

Unlike some legal threats in the past by the president, Trump has actually filed the lawsuit, which runs 85 pages. and alleges the newspaper’s work was “carefully crafted … with actual malice, calculated to inflict maximum damage upon President Trump, and all published during the height of a Presidential Election.”

In addition to reporting in the newspaper itself, the lawsuit cites the 2024 book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” which was authored by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig. Both reporters are named, as is their book publisher, as well as Peter Baker and Michael Schmidt, based on articles they wrote for the Times.

It’s part of a pattern of Trump attempting to crack down on news organizations, including settlements that were reached with CBS and ABC. Trump, this summer, sued the Wall Street Journal, its reporters and its publisher, after they reported on the existence of his letter that was contributed to the “Jeffrey Epstein birthday book,” although the book itself has since surfaced and seemingly contradicted the premise of Trump’s suit.

Attorney General Pam Bondi: “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society…We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.” pic.twitter.com/Bqj6TQOGwP

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) September 16, 2025

The Trump Administration has also expressed a creative interpretation of the First Amendment, especially in the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk. This has included Attorney Pam Bondi implying in an interview this week — falsely — that “hate speech” is not covered by the First Amendment and could lead to arrests.

Photo courtesy of X screenshot.