US President Donald Trump has said he feels an “obligation” to sue the BBC over the way a section of his January 6, 2021 speech was edited in a Panorama documentary. Speaking to Fox News, Trump claimed the corporation had “butchered” his remarks and “defrauded” viewers by presenting his speech in a misleading way.
This is the first time Trump has publicly discussed the matter since his legal team sent a letter to the BBC demanding $1 billion (£759 million) in damages. The letter calls for a full retraction of the documentary, a formal apology, and compensation for alleged harm caused by the edit.
During an interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, Trump said: “They actually changed my January 6 speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical. And they actually changed it. What they did was rather incredible.”
When asked whether he would proceed with the lawsuit, Trump replied: “Well I think I have an obligation to do it, because you can’t get people, you can’t allow people to do that.”
The BBC has previously acknowledged an “error of judgement” over the edited segment, with chair Samir Shah issuing an apology. Trump’s lawyers delivered their formal letter to the BBC on Sunday, giving the corporation a deadline of 22:00 GMT (17:00 EST) on Friday to respond.
The BBC has stated it will respond in due course. Meanwhile, the Fox News interview, recorded on Monday, highlighted Trump’s frustration over how the segment portrayed his speech, which he maintains was “calming” rather than radical.
This dispute adds to ongoing tensions between Trump and major media organisations over coverage of his presidency and the events surrounding January 6, 2021. Legal analysts say a $1 billion lawsuit would be unprecedented and face high scrutiny under US defamation and media law standards.
Erizia Rubyjeana
About the Author
