Today, Donald Trump settled with CBS. He accused the network of “dishonestly editing” an interview with Kamala Harris that was featured on the CBS 60 Minutes show. The suit during the month of October, the former president filed one lawsuit after another— including claiming $10 billion in damages. He subsequently increased that figure to $20 billion in an amended complaint filed in February. The mediation process, which started last April, has recently come to a close with that financial resolution now in place.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges that CBS deceptively edited the interview footage. He claims this was all to rig the 2020 election for the Democratic Party. He asserted that the claimed editing breached the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act. Besides financial damages, another one of Trump’s retaliatory measures was to cancel CBS’s broadcasting license, which he threatened to do if he were elected again.
The terms of the settlement have not been made public. CBS has yet to release a statement of apology. They exhibited no remorse as a term of the settlement.
“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret.” – Paramount
In recent months, Trump has been laying the groundwork for claims against a wide range of media organizations. He’s successfully settled lawsuits against Meta Platforms and ABC. In settlement of the claim, Meta has consented to pay approximately $25 million. This payment settles a class action lawsuit over the banning of Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram following the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, ABC’s settlement included a donation of $15 million to Trump’s presidential library and featured a public apology from anchor George Stephanopoulos for inaccurately stating that Trump had been found liable for rape.
The legal actions taken by Trump serve to continue an established strategy of undermining media narratives and reasserting his dominance in the public discourse. His attorney, Edward A. Paltzik, could not be reached for comment on the terms of the CBS settlement.