THIS DAWN — The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has said that he still plans to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) despite the broadcaster’s apology over a misleading edit of one of his speeches.
President Trump said he plans to sue for between $1 billion and $5 billion.
Trump made the declaration aboard Air Force One, telling reporters that the BBC “changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
His words: “We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week…
“I think I have to do that, I mean they’ve even admitted that they cheated… They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”
The controversy centers on a Panorama documentary that aired a spliced version of Trump’ January 6, 2021, speech.
The version gave the false impression that he urged supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol.
No compensation
After a letter from his legal team, the BBC issued a personal apology and acknowledged the edit was a “mistake in judgment.”
However, the broadcaster has rejected Trump’s demand for compensation, saying there is no legal basis for a defamation claim.
In public comments, Trump said he feels a “duty” to take legal action, calling the edit “beyond fake” and accusing the BBC of corruption.
Trump also indicated that he plans to raise the issue with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he claims is “very embarrassed” by the situation.
The BBC has committed not to re-broadcast the Panorama episode in its current form.
Legal analysts say Trump’s case may face hurdles, though.
They note jurisdictional challenges in suing a British public broadcaster and question whether defamation standards could be met, especially since the BBC argues the edit was unintentional.
The row has sparked high-level fallout: both BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News Chief Deborah Turness resigned amid the controversy.
