Donald Trump is suing the BBC and his lawsuits don’t usually go well. He is suing for $10 billion in damages at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The former president alleges that the British broadcaster defamed him and violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act through its coverage of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, just before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump claims the BBC “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” edited the speech, which, according to him, misrepresented his intentions and incited violence. To this day, that episode has never been broadcast in the United States. U.S. audiences are unable to access, for instance, BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
Under his lawsuit, Trump is suing for $5 billion in damages for each of the two counts Trump has filed against the BBC. He claims that the defamatory misrepresentation of his speech has irreparably damaged his reputation and livelihood. The BBC needs to defend itself as the claims come. Perhaps most importantly, they will claim that the episode proved unable to further erode Trump’s standing with American viewers.
Afterwards, Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax, sounded doubtful that the case would succeed. He speculated it would eventually end up settling for about $10 million. On a related point, writing in support of the BBC’s litigation, former Rep.
“The purpose here for the president is not to get $5bn, it’s to demonstrate a point – and maybe also get some money.” – Christopher Ruddy
That challenge has unleashed a fierce political storm in the UK, forcing demands on the government to defend the BBC from the legal action. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, urged Keir Starmer to “stand up for the BBC against Donald Trump’s outrageous legal threat.” He stressed the need for the UK government to resist all efforts to erode national institutions.
Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow health minister, declared his unqualified support for the BBC. In addition, he added that it is important for the BBC to resist Trump’s anti-defamation lawsuits. Kinnock characterized this moment as the latest move in a long project by Trump’s administration to subvert democracy and destroy public broadcasters from within.
“The Trump administration has clearly set out they want to interfere in our democracy, which includes undermining our national broadcaster. The prime minister needs to make clear this is unacceptable.” – Ed Davey
As legal action continues to play out in court, the BBC stands by its strong determination to fight these claims on all levels. A spokesperson stated, “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
This lawsuit is just the latest round in Trump’s decades-long curtails on media organizations ever since his media campaign last summer on his re-election campaign. He’s faced a number of such claims, achieving high-profile legal victories against giant media companies for similar claims.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, without any apparent preparation, has quit. Gone is Deborah Turness, head of BBC News, as outrage has swirled in the escalating scandal. Their departures underline the internal pressures on the government as it goes through this treacherous legal minefield.
“I think they have apologised for one or two of the mistakes that were made in that Panorama programme, but they’ve also been very clear that there is no case to answer in terms of Mr Trump’s accusations on the broader point about libel or defamation.” – Stephen Kinnock
Many analysts predict a settlement is on the way, others urge against dragging out the court battle. Ruddy remarked, “I don’t think it’s good for the BBC for this to go forward.”