Here’s a breakdown of the key points from the provided text:
The Core Conflict:
Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News and Jesse Watters. The lawsuit alleges that Watters “willfully distorted the facts about the Trump call to harm the governor politically.”
The dispute centers on a phone call between Newsom and President Trump.
Newsom claims he spoke to Trump on June 7th, and the National Guard was not discussed. He also stated they never spoke after that.
Trump claimed he spoke to Newsom “a day ago” (June 10th) and told him he was doing a “bad job.” This implied a more recent conversation where Trump might have been commenting on the deployment of Marines in Los angeles.
Newsom publicly refuted Trump’s claim on X, stating, “There was no call. Not even a voicemail.” He expressed concern that the President didn’t know who he was talking to.
newsom’s lawyers allege that by making the call seem more recent, Trump could suggest they discussed the deployment of troops to Los Angeles, which they had not.
Watters’ Role and Response:
Watters showed a clip of Trump’s June 10th comments on his program.
the clip omitted the part where Trump said he spoke to Newsom “the previous day.”
A banner on Watters’ program read: “Gavin lied about Trump’s call.”
watters later addressed the matter on his show, acknowledging he “misunderstood Newsom’s social media post.”
he offered a qualified apology, saying, “I’m sorry,” but described it as “far from a fulsome apology.”
Watters’ defense for his initial statement was that Newsom’s X post (“Not even a voicemail”) implied there was no call ever, not just that the timing or topic was misrepresented. He suggested Newsom was “confusing and unclear” and should “say what you mean” next time.
Watters also stated that Fox News invited Newsom on the show to discuss it, but newsom declined.
Newsom’s Reaction and the Lawsuit:
Newsom is not backing down and stated, “Discovery will be fun. See you in court, buddy.”
Newsom’s lawyers are prepared to drop the suit if Newsom receives a retraction and a formal on-air apology.
The $787 million figure in the lawsuit is the same amount fox news paid dominion Voting Systems in a previous defamation settlement.
Key Takeaways:
The lawsuit is about defamation and the alleged distortion of facts to damage Newsom’s political standing.
there’s a dispute over the timing and content of a conversation between Newsom and Trump.
Watters’ on-air presentation of the details, including the selective editing of Trump’s comments and the banner, is central to the lawsuit.
Watters’ subsequent apology is seen as insufficient by Newsom.
* The case highlights the potential legal ramifications of how media outlets report on political figures and events.
