Despite Apologies Trump Says He’ll Sue BBC for $5billion Over Edited Speech Controversy

President Donald Trump has said he will sue British Media organisation, the BBC for the way they edited his December 11, speech.

 

The BBC had earlier apologised to the US President for the way his speech was edited on the news analysis programme “Panorama”

 

Trump told reporters on Friday that, “We’ll sue them for anywhere between $1bn and $5bn, probably sometime next week.”

Earlier on Thursday, the BBC admitted that its edited the January 6, 2021 speech of the US president to give “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”  in the US Capitol Hill.

 

Trump who spoke to journalists insisted that, “I think I have to do it.” “They cheated. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.”

 

Also, in a separate interview on Saturday President Trump said that he has the “obligation” to sue the BBC to serve as a deterrent to the BBC so they wont do it to other people.

Trump said that,  “If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people.”

Tim Davie

 

In the January 6, 2021 speech, President Trump had said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” And clear 50 minutes President Trump said, “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

 

However, in the Panorama programme aired on October 2024, the clip showed Trump say, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

 

The Panorama clip made it look like President Trump urged the rioters that invaded the US Congress on.

Resignations and Admission of guilt

As the controversy of the “edit” rages on the Director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie and BBC head of news, Deborah Turness both turned in their resignation letters. According to the BBC reports, the duo resigned to ensure that the image  and credibility of the media organisation is not hurt beyond repairs.

 Deborah Turness

In a statement it earlier issued, the BBC apoligised and said that the Panorama programme has been reviewed.

 

Part of the statement reads:

“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.“

 

BBC said that its leadership was interfacing with the White House to ensure a speedy resolution of the impasse.

 

According to a spokesperson,  the “BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.“

 

The organisation however reiterates that,  “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

 

For President Trump, it’s a familiar turf. In July 2025,  US Media organisation, CBS paid the US President $16million as an out-of-court settlement for a similar programme aired that misquoted and “defamed” Trump.