California Governor Gavin Newsom has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, seeking $787 million in damages. The governor claims that a Fox News host misrepresented an edited clip of President Trump’s comments regarding Newsom, falsely suggesting that Newsom had lied about Trump not contacting him concerning the deployment of National Guard troops during the Los Angeles protests.
In the lawsuit, filed on Friday in Delaware Superior Court, Newsom stated that he had a 16-minute phone conversation with Trump on June 7, just two days prior to the president deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles, an action Newsom opposed. On June 10, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago,” which implied a conversation on June 9. However, Newsom quickly refuted this claim in a post on social media.
According to the lawsuit, Fox News host Jesse Watters aired an edited version of Trump’s remarks on June 10, questioning, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Watters’ segment also featured a screenshot of Trump’s call log, which was provided by fellow Fox News host John Roberts, confirming that the last call between Trump and Newsom indeed took place on June 7, as Newsom had asserted.
The $787 million in damages sought by Newsom mirrors the amount Fox News agreed to pay to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems in April 2023. Dominion accused Fox News of broadcasting false claims about the company’s role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Additionally, Newsom’s lawsuit requests a court order to prevent Fox News from disseminating any further claims that he lied about his communications with Trump. In a statement to Politico, Newsom emphasized, “If Fox News wants to deceive the American people on behalf of Donald Trump, it should face consequences, just as it did in the Dominion case. I will continue to fight against their propaganda until they are willing to tell the truth.”
Fox News representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment. Newsom’s legal team has also sent a letter to Fox News demanding a retraction and an on-air apology from Watters. Should the network comply, the governor has indicated he would be willing to drop the lawsuit.
