A timeline of Trump’s fights with media, including the BBC and Jimmy Kimmel

President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation and deceptive trade practices. The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims the BBC deliberately misrepresented Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech by “splicing together two entirely separate parts” to “intentionally misrepresent” his meaning.

The suit further alleges the BBC’s edit constitutes “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election. While the BBC apologized to Trump last month over the edited speech, the publicly funded broadcaster has firmly rejected claims that it defamed the president.

This legal action marks the latest in a series of confrontations between Trump and media organizations since he returned to office. The relationship has been characterized by multiple lawsuits, funding cuts, and changes to press access that have raised concerns about press freedom and the administration’s approach to media criticism.

In September, ABC temporarily suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following controversial comments the host made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump celebrated the suspension of the veteran comic, who has been one of his most prominent critics. The network reinstated Kimmel less than a week later, prompting backlash from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, who suggested regulatory action against ABC and parent company Walt Disney Co.

The incident sparked solidarity among late-night hosts, with Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and Stephen Colbert all expressing support for Kimmel. Hundreds of entertainment industry figures signed an ACLU letter calling ABC’s decision “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation.”

Earlier in September, Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times targeting four journalists for a book and three articles published shortly before the 2024 election. A Florida federal judge initially dismissed the suit as “tedious and burdensome” but allowed Trump’s legal team to file an amended complaint, which they did in October.

In July, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal and News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion following the publication of an article describing his ties to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The report detailed a sexually suggestive letter allegedly bearing Trump’s name included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.

That same month, CBS announced the cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” effective May 2025. While CBS cited financial reasons for the decision, the timing raised questions as it came just three days after Colbert criticized a settlement between Trump and CBS parent company Paramount Global.

That settlement involved Paramount paying Trump $16 million to resolve a lawsuit regarding the editing of a CBS “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in October 2024. Trump’s lawyers had claimed he suffered “mental anguish” following the interview and sought $20 billion in damages.

In May, Trump signed an executive order slashing public subsidies to PBS and NPR, citing alleged “bias” in their reporting. The order instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cease federal funding for both broadcasters. NPR and three local stations subsequently sued Trump, arguing the order violated their free speech rights. Congress later approved eliminating $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting.

February saw Trump remove the Associated Press from the White House press pool, denying AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other restricted events. The move came in retaliation for AP’s refusal to adopt Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” in all instances.

The wire service sued Trump, and a district court initially ruled in AP’s favor on First Amendment grounds in April, though a federal appeals court stayed that decision in June.

In December 2024, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library as part of a defamation lawsuit settlement over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ incorrect on-air statement that Trump had been found civilly liable of raping writer E. Jean Carroll. The network also paid $1 million in legal fees.