U.S. News
Trump’s $475 Million CNN Lawsuit Collapses
By Jake Beardslee · November 22, 2025
Appeals Court Decision
A federal appeals court has rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to revive a $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling that dismissed the case, determining that CNN’s use of the phrase “The Big Lie” in relation to Trump’s 2020 election fraud claims constitutes protected opinion under the First Amendment. The White House / Wikimedia
Background of the Lawsuit
Trump first filed the lawsuit in 2022, accusing CNN of comparing him to "Adolf Hitler and Nazis,” and intentionally harming his reputation. U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal dismissed the case, stating that opinions cannot be considered defamatory without demonstrably false factual statements. The appeals court agreed with this reasoning. Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Judicial Opinion
Writing for the appellate panel, Judge Adalberto Jordan wrote, “CNN’s subjective assessment of Trump’s conduct is not readily capable of being proven true or False.” The court concluded that the network’s language reflects interpretation rather than verifiable reporting. Miami Law Review, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Court’s Interpretation of “The Big Lie”
The appellate panel emphasized that CNN’s reference to “The Big Lie” represents a viewpoint rather than a factual accusation. The opinion noted that Trump’s behavior following the 2020 election may be interpreted in various ways. The ruling stated, “Trump’s argument hinges on the fact that his own interpretation of his conduct — i.e., that he was exercising a constitutional right to identify his concerns with the integrity of elections — is true and that CNN’s interpretation — i.e., that Trump was peddling his ‘Big Lie’ — is false.” The judges added, “However, his conduct is susceptible to multiple subjective interpretations, including CNN’s.” Tingey Injury Law Firm / Unsplash