Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1.5 billion

November 11, 2025 10:55

US President Donald Trump has threatened to sue Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC, for US$1 billion (A$1.53 billion) for “trying to interfere in the presidential election” last year. His claim relates to the revelation the BBC spliced together two sections of a speech he gave ahead of the riots and attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

A spokesperson for the President’s legal team told NBC News: “The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election.”

They added: “President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”

BBC reporters have seen the legal letter, which sets out three demands, including “issuing a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published”.

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Vivienne Kelly

Vivienne Kelly is a freelance journalist and commentator. She currently co-hosts MediaLand on ABC Radio National with Tim Burrowes, and was previously editor of Mumbrella between 2016 and 2020.

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