President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging that the publication's 2024 reporting damaged his business interests including his Solana-based meme coin project. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida federal court, specifically names four Times reporters and publisher Penguin Random House, citing multiple articles and the book "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success."
The filing claims the Times' coverage caused "reputational injury" to Trump's brand and businesses, including his TRUMP meme coin which launched in January 2025. Despite the alleged damage occurring months before the token's launch, the lawsuit claims the reporting harmed the project's potential value in the minds of Florida residents. The token reached a $73 billion fully diluted valuation shortly after launch before crashing 88% to its current $8.6 billion valuation.
The legal action comes amid Trump's broader pattern of targeting media organizations, having previously sued The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, and Paramount's 60 Minutes. Trump framed the lawsuit as a response to what he called the paper's "illegal campaign contribution" to Democrats, specifically referencing its front-page endorsement of Kamala Harris during the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, crypto fund manager Canary Capital filed on August 27 to launch the first U.S. spot ETF tied directly to the TRUMP token, though analysts remain skeptical about approval due to the lack of a futures market framework. Daily trading volumes for TRUMP have collapsed from $36 billion in January to approximately $300 million, indicating fading retail interest.