President Trump sues The BBC for $10 million: What does the suit allege?
By Easton Martin | December 16, 2025
President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on December 15, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the British Broadcasting Corporation seeking at least $10 billion in damages.
The complaint states that the BBC defamed him and violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by broadcasting an edited version of his January 6, 2021 speech in a BBC Panorama documentary titled Trump: A Second Chance?.
The suit claims the BBC spliced together separate parts of the speech in a way that made it appear he encouraged supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol and “fight like hell,” omitting portions where he called for peaceful protest. Trump’s legal team argues this editing created a false, misleading and defamatory portrayal of his remarks and amounted to an attempt to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
The lawsuit seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for deceptive trade practices. The BBC previously apologized for the edit, calling it an error of judgment, but has denied there is a legal basis for defamation claims and said it will defend itself in court. The controversy has so far led to the resignations of top BBC executives.
