As a result of fearing he will run for president again in 2024, President Trump is suing CNN, claiming the outlet defamed him.
According to the Daily Caller, CNN is accused of using its influence to smear Trump politically and prevent him from launching a reelection campaign, according to the complaint filed Monday in US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
CNN aims to create news, not to report it. And Trump has long been a critic of CNN, the suit alleges.
“CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the Plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the Plaintiff will run for president in 2024,” the suit reads. “As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler.’”
According to the lawsuit, Trump is seeking $475 million in punitive damages.
On Truth Social, Trump shared a lengthy statement regarding his lawsuit, saying in part, “A lawsuit was filed today against CNN, the once prestigious news channel that has devolved into a purveyor of disinformation, defamation, and Fake News, at a level which the American Public, and indeed the World, will not even believe is possible. For years I have watched this take place, often in disbelief, but the time has finally come to hold CNN responsible and legally accountable for their willful deception and defamatory statements made about me.”
He concluded with, “I am proud to file today’s lawsuit in order to begin the process of standing up to fake news and the mainstream media.”
