Gavin Newsom Is Suing Fox News for Defamation Over Trump Call — And Seeking $787 Million in Damages

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is suing Fox News for defamation and seeking at least $787 million in damages.

Newsom is arguing that host Jesse Watters defamed Newsom when he accused the Golden State executive of lying about a call with President Donald Trump earlier this month. Per The New York Times, Newsom is accusing Fox of using deceptive video edits and making false statements to support Trump’s June 10 claim that he had spoken to Newsom the day before that. Newsom had publicly disputed that claim, and Trump provided Fox with screenshots showing that he had spoken with Newsom on June 6 Pacific Daylight Time and June 7 Eastern Daylight Time.

From the Times’ report:

In covering the sequence of events, Mr. Newsom alleges, Fox News made deceptive video edits and false statements that concealed that Mr. Trump said the leaders had spoken “a day ago.” Instead, he alleges, the network framed Mr. Trump’s call log as proof that Mr. Newsom had been dishonest when it showed that Mr. Trump was incorrect about when the call took place.

“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Mr. Watters said on his show, according to the lawsuit, which includes an image of a chyron stating, “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”

The two-term governor, who is widely believed to be preparing to mount a bid for the presidency in 2028, has offered to drop the lawsuit if Fox offers formal retraction and Watters apologizes on air.

In a statement to Mediaite, Fox News dismissed the entire ordeal, writing, “Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”

In April 2023, Fox reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which had sued the network for defamation over falsehoods made about it in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!