Donald Trump Threatens to Sue BBC for $1 Billion Over Documentary Deemed Misleading
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the British media outlet, the BBC, over the broadcast of a documentary that he claims misrepresented a speech he made before the 2021 Capitol attack.
Trump is even demanding US$1 billion in damages, equivalent to Rp16.7 trillion, for what he claims is misleading and damaging to his reputation.
The legal threat is contained in a legal notice sent by Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, to the BBC on Sunday (November 9, 2025) local time. The document was later confirmed by Reuters and the BBC on Tuesday (November 11, 2025).
In the letter, Trump’s legal team made three main demands of the BBC. First, the BBC immediately retracts the entire documentary, which contains statements it calls “false, defamatory, misleading, and inflammatory.”
“Immediately and fairly retract the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, derogatory, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump,” Brito wrote in the letter.
Second, Trump is demanding a public apology from the BBC for the broadcast error, which he claims has damaged his reputation internationally.
Third, Trump is seeking financial compensation for the reputational damage and legal repercussions caused by the documentary.
To date, the BBC has not issued an official response to the lawsuit threat. However, this case adds to the long list of legal disputes between Trump and international media outlets in the lead-up to the 2028 US presidential election, in which Trump is reportedly preparing to run for re-election.
