BBC faces ‘existential’ threat as Donald Trump threatens $1bn lawsuit

Good morning and welcome to White House Watch. Donald Trump’s crusade against media organisations he deems hostile to his agenda and his administration crossed the Atlantic over the weekend, leading to the resignations of the BBC director-general and a top executive. Also in today’s newsletter:

• Senate approves deal to end shutdown

• Democratic party backlash

• Syrian president visits the White House

First, a disclaimer. The author of today’s White House Watch was a graduate trainee at the BBC and worked there for six years, during which he witnessed the corporation combat its fair share of scandals.

But the fallout over an edit of a documentary about Donald Trump aired last year — which spliced together two parts of a speech given by the then outgoing president in January 2021 — was probably the first BBC scandal to reach the Oval Office. The White House’s wrath appears to have led directly to the shock resignations in London.

“These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the resignations. “On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally,” he added.

The US president yesterday threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn, accusing the British broadcaster of “defaming” him by editing the speech to make it look like he was inciting violence. He has given the corporation until Friday to retract the programme and apologise, or face a blockbuster lawsuit.

Trump has previously sued US news organisations, including CBS and ABC, both of which settled rather than fight Trump in court.

A case brought by Trump against the Wall Street Journal over its publication of a birthday message allegedly written by Trump to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein remains ongoing.

For its part, the BBC, via its chair Samir Shah, admitted the edit of Trump’s speech was “an error of judgment” that gave the “impression of a direct call for violent action”.

The threat is especially critical for the BBC as its executives prepare for crucial negotiations with the government over its future direction and funding. One BBC executive warned the outcome of the talks could prove “existential” as it fights for long-term relevance in the global media industry.

Trump’s awareness of the edit seems to have been a result of stories written by The Telegraph and a column by former British prime minister Boris Johnson, both of which were referenced by the president on Truth Social in the past few days.

His anger at Britain’s national broadcaster could become a diplomatic bind. Asked about the recent furore, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a close friend of Trump’s, said the president was “very, very unhappy”.

The latest headlines

• Former jihadi-turned-Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House, the first Syrian president to visit since the country’s independence in 1946.

• Consultants and IT contractors already hit by Doge have been tapping debt markets for emergency cash during the government shutdown.

• Can the US break China’s grip on rare earths? Experts have questioned Washington’s suggestion that it can end Beijing’s dominance of the sector within two years.

• Switzerland is inching closer to a deal to cut punishing US tariffs on its exports to about 15 per cent. Companies from Rolex to Richemont have taken the lead in breaking months of deadlock between Bern and Washington.

What we’re hearing

After a stand-off that lasted more than a month — the longest in American history — lawmakers in Washington are poised to reopen the government.

Democrats and Republicans in the Senate hammered out a deal on Sunday and passed a stop-gap funding bill late on Monday night, amid mounting public frustration and chaos in airports across the US.

But the backlash from progressives against the Democratic senators who voted to advance the compromise has been fierce. The deal was secured on a promise from Republican leaders of a future vote to extend key healthcare subsidies and curb the firing of federal workers — a promise many Democrats are uneasy with.

“This ‘deal’ hikes healthcare premiums and worsens the affordability crisis,” New York’s newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani fumed on X. Others warned that Democrats risked squandering the political momentum they built after their recent election wins in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.

Even Barack Obama’s former aide Dan Pfeiffer couldn’t resist a jab: “No one can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like the Democrats,” he wrote.

Still, markets gave the deal a thumbs-up yesterday. The S&P 500 closed 1.5 per cent higher, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.3 per cent.

The deal still faces hurdles in the House, but Speaker Mike Johnson insisted lawmakers were ready to move fast, with a vote on the plan this week. “Too many people have suffered,” he said.

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