President Donald Trump received sharp criticism from The Guardian's editorial board on Tuesday after he sued the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, for defamation.
Trump filed a 33-page complaint in a court in Florida on Monday, alleging that the BBC deceptively edited a portion of a documentary that details the president's actions on Jan. 6, 2021. The lawsuit seeks to recoup $10 billion in damages. The BBC has said it will defend itself in the case.
The Guardian's editorial board argued in a new editorial on Tuesday that the lawsuit is "absurd" on its face and speaks to a larger aim of the administration.
"A terse BBC statement on Tuesday suggested that there would be no backing down in the face of White House bullying," the editorial reads. "That is the right response to absurd claims of 'overwhelming financial and reputational harm' caused to the US president, and a fantastical request for damages amounting to $10bn."
"A serious error of judgment was made in that editing process – though the House of Representatives January 6 committee concluded that Trump did use his speech to incite an insurrection," it added. "But the claim that a programme not broadcast in the US was part of a malicious plan to defame Mr. Trump and subvert the democratic process ahead of last year’s election is utterly specious."
The editorial board also noted that Trump appears to be using the lawsuit to advance part of his agenda.
"By relentlessly targeting the US 'legacy' media and now the BBC, while cosplaying the role of victim, Mr. Trump is seeking to galvanise his base and narrow the parameters of acceptable scrutiny and judgment," the editorial board wrote.