Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against CNN over ‘the Big Lie’ dismissed in Florida
NBCFeb 10, 2023
The Facts
US District Judge Raag Singhal on Friday dismissed former Pres. Trump’s defamation case against CNN, which Trump claimed compared him to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis by using the phrase “the big lie” to describe his false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Trump, currently a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, filed his lawsuit in October seeking punitive damages of $475M, claiming the network’s references hurt his reputation and political career.
Singhal, a 2019 Trump nominee to the bench, wrote in his ruling that CNN’s statements may have been “repugnant” but didn’t qualify as “defamatory” under the law.
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
CNN has done nothing but smear Trump since he first announced his run for president in 2015, and the network should have to pay for equating him with Hitler and Nazis. The network’s malice is evident in its silence about Democratic politicians who have complained about election integrity through the years. Someday CNN will be held accountable for its biased rhetoric.
Democratic narrative
While Trump keeps telling his followers he’s a winner, this case gets added to the laundry list of defeats he has suffered in the courts — including other suits against media outlets. The freedom of the press is a pillar of the US, and Trump is finding out the hard way that he can’t just use the legal system to attack news outlets he feels has besmirched him.
