President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, claiming its reporting has damaged his personal brand, media company, and Solana -based meme coin.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in a federal court in Florida, escalates Trump's legal assault on major US media outlets.
Trump accuses Times of defamation and election bias
Trump said the New York Times had abandoned journalistic standards and acted as “a powerful mouthpiece for the Democratic Party.” He cited the reporting, endorsements, and book Lucky Loser by reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner. The lawsuit also names four Times reporters, along with publisher Penguin Random House, which Trump called “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
He said the report has caused major losses for Trump Media & Technology Group and undermined confidence in his cryptocurrency projects. Trump Media, where the president is a major shareholder, operates his Truth Social platform and has recently invested heavily in cryptocurrencies.
In a post on Truth Social, he said the “degenerate” Times had engaged in “a decades-long pattern of lying” about him, his family and the MAGA movement.
The lawsuit accuses the Times of election interference, pointing to its front-page endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 campaign. It also claims the book's release was deliberately timed to coincide with a trailer for The Apprentice, causing a sharp drop in Trump Media's stock price.
The lawsuit continues Trump’s aggressive legal battle against media companies. He has recently sued the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos, and Paramount’s 60 Minutes. The settlements have exceeded $15 million, with Paramount paying $16 million in July.
The Times has denied the allegations.
“This lawsuit has no merit,” a spokesman said. “It is an attempt to suppress and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be intimidated by intimidation tactics.”
Trump's meme coin faces collapse
The lawsuit explicitly links the reputational damage to his meme coin project, which launched on Solana in January, shortly before he took office. The official Trump coin initially soared above $40 but has since plummeted, now trading around $8.63 with a daily volume of nearly $175 million—down nearly 80% from its initial peak.
Melania’s Token fared even worse, falling from a launch high of a few dollars to just $0.20 by mid-September 2025. With a daily volume of just $5.5 million, it reflects much weaker liquidation and waning investor interest compared to Trump’s coin.
Despite the decline, Trump and his sons reportedly made $6 billion from the launch of World Liberty Financial’s WLFI Token and an additional $620 million from broader digital asset holdings.
Experts estimate that cryptocurrencies now account for 9% of Trump's $6 billion fortune, while real estate has dropped to about half.
