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Trump sues the BBC for defamation and demands $10bn

The documentary on the Capitol Hill riot aired before the 2024 elections is under indictment. The judge is unlikely to agree with "The Donald"

16 December 2025

Il presidente Usa Trump intenta una causa miliardaria all’emittente nazionale britannica BBC per un documentario del 2024

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Donald vs. The Beeb
The documentary under dispute
Why Trump is unlikely to win the case

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the British network BBC, seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation and deceptive and unfair business practices.

The 33-page lawsuit accuses 'The Beeb' of broadcasting a 'false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, provocative and malicious portrayal of President Trump', calling it 'a brazen attempt to interfere with and influence' the 2024 US presidential election.

The Donald vs. The Beeb

"The Donald" accuses the BBC of "splicing together two completely separate parts of President Trump's 6 January 2021 speech", when there was the Maga assault on Capitol Hill in order to "intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said".

The BBC did not immediately respond to the agency's request for comment. Last month, the broadcaster had apologised to Trump for editing the 6 January speech. However, after Trump threatened legal action, the public broadcaster dismissed the defamation allegations.

BBC president Samir Shah called the incident an 'error of judgement', which led to the dismissal of the BBC director general and chief information officer. The speech was delivered before some Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely claims was stolen from him.

The documentary under dispute

The BBC had broadcast the one-hour documentary, entitled Trump: A Second Chance?, a few days before the 2024 US presidential election. The documentary combined three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be a single quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and 'fight with all their might'. Among the parts cut out was a section in which Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Trump said Monday that he would sue the BBC "for putting words in his mouth that he did not say. They attributed terrible words to me about 6 January that I never said, whereas the words I did say are beautiful words, right?" the president said offhandedly during an appearance in the Oval Office. "They are beautiful words about patriotism and all the positive things I said. They didn't say that, but they attributed terrible words to me."

Why Trump is unlikely to win the case

The president's lawsuit was filed in Florida. The deadlines for bringing the case before the British courts expired more than a year ago. Legal experts have raised potential difficulties for a case in the United States, as the documentary has not been broadcast in the country. The lawsuit claims that people in the US can watch original BBC content, including the Panorama series, which included the documentary, using the BritBox subscription streaming platform.

The BBC, founded 103 years ago, is a British national institution funded through an annual fee of £174.50 paid by every household watching live TV or streaming content. Bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial, it is typically subject to particularly intense scrutiny and criticism from both the Conservatives and Labour.