Trump Says He’s Bringing $15 Billion Lawsuit Against New York Times

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times (NYT), accusing the paper of serving as a “mouthpiece” for the Democrats and pitting himself against one of the world’s oldest and most prominent news organizations.

In the lawsuit, Trump criticized the Times’ “deranged” endorsement of former presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, saying it was featured prominently on the paper’s front page and included a “hyperbolic” opening line that it’s “hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump.”

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In a Truth Social post announcing the suit, Trump accused the paper of 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.”

The amount he’s seeking exceeds the market capitalization of The New York Times Co., which currently stands at about $9.65 billion.

The case, filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida, cites the Times’ news and opinion articles as well as the 2024 book , written by two of the paper’s reporters.

In addition to the newspaper company, defendants include reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, as well as publisher Penguin Random House LLC.

The filing describes the Times editorial approach as “one of industrial-scale defamation and libel against political opponents.” The paper didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

The case adds to Trump’s running battles with the press since returning to the presidency. In July, he sued Dow Jones & Co., News Corp. (NWSA) and Rupert Murdoch for libel, seeking $10 billion in damages after the Wall Street Journal published a story alleging that Trump once sent a suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. House Democrats later released the alleged birthday note as part of a trove of documents received by the House Oversight Committee.

Trump reached a settlement with Paramount Global in July over a lawsuit tied to CBS news network’s interview with then-Vice President Harris. In December, ABC agreed to give $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation or museum to resolve a separate defamation claim.