President Donald Trump scored a major legal victory Tuesday after a federal judge in Florida refused to dismiss his multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against the BBC over its deceptively edited coverage of his January 6, 2021, speech.
The ruling delivers another embarrassing setback for the British taxpayer-funded broadcaster, which previously admitted that its editing created a misleading impression of Trump’s remarks.
Judge Kuntz, a Trump appointee confirmed by the Senate in July 2026, wrote in his order: “Here, the news entity created the story. BBC admitted as much by confirming it had edited a video to make it appear as though President Trump made a statement he never made.”
The court found that Trump had plausibly alleged the broadcaster damaged his reputation and knew, or should have known, the clip was misleading. The BBC must now file an answer to the surviving defamation count by December 1, 2026. The judge dismissed a separate claim under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social:
“A Huge Victory against Fake News BBC, a terrible abuser of the truth… We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People!”
