President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of defamation and libel.
In a late-night post on Monday, Trump described the publication as “one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country.”
He characterized the lawsuit as a “great honor” and claimed that the paper has become a “virtual mouthpiece for the Radical Left Democrat Party.”
Trump’s announcement came shortly after The New York Times released articles examining his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, the former president warned he would sue The New York Times over its reporting related to a sexually suggestive note and drawing allegedly given to Epstein decades ago.
Trump argued that he views the paper as “the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER.”
He criticized the publication’s Sept. 30 endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, which appeared prominently on the front page.
“Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!” Trump wrote.
In his statement, Trump accused the newspaper of engaging in a decades-long effort to damage him, his family, and his movement.
“The ‘Times’ has engaged in a decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole,” he said.
The president also compared the case to other lawsuits he has filed against major news outlets.
“I am PROUD to hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible, as we are doing with the Fake News Networks such as our successful litigation against George Slopadopoulos/ABC/Disney, and 60 Minutes/CBS/Paramount,” Trump said.
He further claimed that media companies used what he described as a “highly sophisticated system of document and visual alteration” to smear him.
Trump alleged these practices amounted to “a malicious form of defamation,” and said networks settled with him for record amounts.
“They practiced this longterm INTENT and pattern of abuse, which is both unacceptable and illegal,” Trump wrote.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he added.
The lawsuit is reportedly set to be filed in Florida, where Trump frequently resides at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The Daily Mail outlined that in its September endorsement of Harris, The New York Times editorial board called her “the only patriotic choice.”
The editorial strongly criticized Trump’s fitness for office. “It is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump,” the board wrote.
“He has proved himself morally unfit for an office that asks its occupant to put the good of the nation above self-interest. He has proved himself temperamentally unfit for a role that requires the very qualities — wisdom, honesty, empathy, courage, restraint, humility, discipline — that he most lacks.”
“Regardless of any political disagreements voters might have with her, Kamala Harris is the only patriotic choice for president,” the editorial concluded.
The case against The New York Times follows Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch in July.
That lawsuit was filed after the Journal published allegations concerning a birthday note Trump allegedly wrote for Epstein.
Trump denied writing the letter, calling the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
That case was also filed in Florida.
Paramount notably recently reached a settlement with Trump by paying him $16 million.
The lawsuit accused the network of deceptively editing an interview with Vice President Harris during the election campaign to portray her more favorably.
