Newsmax Boss Predicts BBC Would Beat Trump in $1B Case Over ‘Doctored’ Jan. 6 Clip
Longtime Trump ally and Newsmax chief Chris Ruddy predicted that President Donald Trump “may very well” move to sue the BBC over its “doctored” clip of his January 6 speech from 2021, but the broadcaster would “prevail” under Florida’s media laws.
Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion in a letter sent to the broadcaster on Monday over its edit, which appeared in a 2024 Panorama investigative documentary and led to the resignations of the corporation’s director general and head of news. The documentary appeared to show Trump urging supporters to “fight like hell” as they gathered at the Capitol, but the original footage shows him instead calling on the crowd to “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Tuesday, Ruddy warned that even though a legal victory could be unlikely, Trump “may very well sue the BBC because he’s had a winning record on bringing these suits.”
He continued: “I’m also very assured that if the BBC took the case to court, they would prevail. They would prevail because the state of Florida has pretty strong libel laws that defend media companies and free speech. What’s happening is that a lot of media companies would prefer not to go through the media spectacle of all this.”
Trump has repeatedly accused major networks of spreading “fake news” and has previously launched defamation suits against CBS and ABC, the Newsmax chief noted. While those cases were settled rather than fought in court, Ruddy said Trump sees such outcomes as vindication.
“I think he sees these as victories. I mean, I’ve talked to him about the CBS and the ABC case, and he sees this as legitimizing his claims that there’s fake news, that the news is out to get him. I think there’s a feeling that the media in America is quite weaponized,” he said.
Ruddy also congratulated the BBC over recent resignations linked to the controversy, calling them proof of “accountability.”
Asked whether Trump would consider Britain’s reaction before acting, Ruddy said the former president “has a very good relationship with [Prime Minister] Keir Starmer” and “widely respects King Charles.”
“He does not see this as impinging at all on the very good relationship that he has with Britain,” Ruddy said.
Watch above via BBC.
