Trump claims ‘obligation’ to sue BBC over its controversial edit of his speech
US president says ‘you can’t allow people to do that,’ but doesn’t confirm he began proceedings for defamation lawsuit over edited clip in documentary about 2021 Capitol riot
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US President Donald Trump said he had an “obligation” to sue the BBC over a misleading edit of a speech he gave, but stopped short of announcing legal action in a Fox News interview aired on Tuesday.
Trump’s lawyers threatened the British broadcaster with a billion-dollar lawsuit on Monday, according to a letter seen by AFP, as the BBC apologized for giving the impression the president had urged “violent action” ahead of the 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
In the Fox News interview, which was recorded on Monday, Trump was asked if he planned to sue the BBC.
“I guess I have to, why not?” said the president in his first public comments on the potential for legal action.
“I think I have an obligation to do it because you can’t allow people to do that,” Trump said, without confirming whether he had officially begun proceedings to file a defamation lawsuit.
“They defrauded the public and they’ve admitted it.”
Britain “is supposedly one of our great allies,” and “the government has a chunk of that one,” Trump added, referring to the BBC.
President Trump speaks out on his $1billion BBC takedown
“They DEFRAUDED the public! And they’ve admitted it! No way to treat an ally”
The BBC have until 10pm on Friday to apologise and offer a settlement figure or face Trump in a Florida court
— Ben Leo (@benleo444) November 12, 2025
The BBC has not yet formally responded to the demand from Florida-based Trump attorney Alejandro Brito that it “retract the false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements,” apologize and “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused” by Friday, or face legal action for $1 billion in damages.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been performing a tightrope act between backing the publicly funded broadcaster’s independence without seeming to take a side against Trump.
The BBC director general and the organization’s top news executive resigned Sunday over the controversy.
The BBC has said that it would “review” the letter from Trump’s legal team. BBC chair Samir Shah issued a public apology on Monday for an “error of judgment” made in the editing.
Fifty-seven percent of Britons believe the BBC should apologize directly to the American president, according to a YouGov poll published on Tuesday. But a quarter were against such an apology.
The row comes at a politically sensitive time for the BBC, which is due to renegotiate the Royal Charter that outlines the corporation’s governance. Its current charter will end in 2027.
Trump has been accused of launching a number of lawsuits to stifle criticism in US media since returning to power in January.
The BBC documentary featuring the edited Trump speech was aired last year.
It appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them and “fight like hell,” but he also told the audience in the intervening period: “We’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
BREAKING ???? The fake news BBC was just caught doctoring President Trumps speech on January 6th
Watch as they deceptively portray Trump clipping parts together that do NOT go together
THEY SHOULD BE SUED INTO OBLIVION pic.twitter.com/vCcayuPWFu
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) November 3, 2025
The BBC had been under mounting pressure after an internal report by a former standards adviser was leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper last week, citing failings in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, trans issues, and the speech made by Trump.
The report’s section on the Gaza war documented that BBC Arabic’s story selection and editing largely omitted pieces criticizing Hamas or highlighting the suffering of Israelis, including the hostages kidnapped by the terror group.
The BBC has also faced backlash over a number of other issues related to the war, including over a documentary narrated by the child of a Hamas official, and accusations that journalists posted antisemitic content on social media.
The Times of Israel Community.