Tipsheet

Trump Scores Major Legal Victory Against the New York Times

President Donald Trump has scored a major victory against the New York Times in his defamation lawsuit against the news outlet.

Trump announced that U.S. District Court Judge Steven Merryday denied a request for dismissal from the New York Times for the $15 billion lawsuit against the Times for alleged defamation of Trump and his business career across a decade.

“As we requested, the Highly Respected Judge has called for an updated complaint, which will lay out, in extreme detail, all the ways in which The Times has repeatedly and consistently acted, with actual malice in defaming me, my family, our Great MAGA Movement, and America, itself,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will continue to hold The Times and their ‘comrades’ in the Mainstream Media accountable for publishing, promoting, and dealing in Fake News.“

The suit had originally been dismissed back in September of 2025 by Merryday, who considered the previous filing to be “improper and impermissible.” Trump updated the suit in October, where according to Trump, the outlet has repeatedly failed in their requests to have the legal action dismissed.

Should Trump be successful, the $15 billion valuation that the Trump legal team has indicated the damages to be valued at would be worth more than the entire market capitalization of the outlet itself, which is worth just under $12 billion as of July 2026.