President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC Monday 2025, in federal court in Miami.
The suit accuses the British broadcaster of intentionally misleading viewers by deceptively editing clips from Trump's January 6, 2021, speech in a 2024 Panorama documentary titled "Trump: A Second Chance?", which aired shortly before the U.S. presidential election.
Producers spliced remarks made nearly 55 minutes apart—including "we're going to walk down to the Capitol" and "fight like hell"—while omitting his call for supporters to protest "peacefully and patriotically," creating the false impression that Trump incited violence.
Trump seeks $5 billion for defamation and $5 billion for violating Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, alleging malice and an attempt to interfere in the 2024 election.
The BBC previously apologized in November 2025, describing the edit as an "error of judgment" that gave a "mistaken impression," withdrew the documentary, and saw resignations from top executives amid a bias probe. However, it has maintained there is no basis for a defamation claim, citing no malice, no U.S. broadcast, and no reputational harm since Trump won re-election.
🚨 NEW: President Trump’s lawyers have written to the BBC over misleading Trump speech edit, demanding a retraction, an apology, some kind of compensation and threatening a lawsuit of a BILLION dollars pic.twitter.com/GuUQvRzhzd
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) November 10, 2025
The documentary did not air in the U.S., but the lawsuit argues jurisdiction in Florida based on potential accessibility via VPNs and licensing deals. Legal experts note challenges under U.S. standards requiring proof of "actual malice" for public figures, though Trump has secured settlements from outlets like ABC ($15 million) and CBS ($16 million) in similar disputes.
The case remains ongoing, with the publicly funded BBC likely to defend vigorously amid political sensitivities.