U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed that he intends to move forward with a lawsuit seeking between $1 billion and $5 billion from the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of editing his speech in a misleading way.
His comments follow the BBC’s apology on Friday, issued after Trump demanded a full retraction, an immediate apology, and compensation over a Panorama documentary that appeared to show him encouraging violence ahead of the January 6 Capitol riot.
The BBC had been given until today to respond to Trump’s $1 billion legal threat after mounting criticism that the programme had misled viewers.
In its Friday statement, the BBC said the edit represented an “error of judgment” and that the programme “will not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms.”
However, the broadcaster added that “while the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree that there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
After the BBC declined to meet his demands in full, Trump told GB News in a heated interview that he felt an “obligation” to pursue legal action.
“I’m not looking to get into lawsuits, but I think I have an obligation to do it. This was so egregious,” he said to GB Newshost Bev Turner. “If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people.”
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Trump reiterated that he plans to formally seek damages, saying, “We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week.”
“I think I have to do it,” he added.
