California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a $787 million lawsuit against Fox News, alleging the network distorted facts to favor former President Donald Trump. The lawsuit stems from a dispute over a phone call Newsom claims never happened between himself and trump on June 6, the day before Trump federalized the National Guard to address protests following ICE raids in Los Angeles.
Newsom opposed the federalization of the National Guard and stated that Trump did not mention the demonstrations or the National Guard during their supposed phone conversation. Though, on june 10, Trump told reporters he had spoken with newsom “a day ago” about the Los Angeles demonstrations.Newsom promptly refuted this, posting on X that “There was no call. Not even a voicemail.” He expressed alarm that a president deploying Marines would be unaware of who he was speaking with.
Later that day, Fox News anchor John Roberts acquired a screenshot of Trump’s call log, which indicated a 16-minute call on June 6 or 7. During a segment, host Jesse Watters played a clip of Trump’s statement about the call, omitting the phrase “a day ago,” as detailed in the lawsuit. Watters then questioned Newsom’s denial, stating, “Newsom responded, and he said there wasn’t a phone call.He said Trump never called him. Not even a voicemail, he said. But John Roberts got Trump’s call logs, and it shows Trump called him late Friday night and they talked for 16 minutes. Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?” The on-screen chyron during this segment read, “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”
In a subsequent appearance on Thursday, Watters addressed the situation, saying, “We thought the dispute was about whether there had been a call at all, not when. We thought the governor was clear when he said, without qualification, that there was no call. Now Newsom is telling us what was in his head when he wrote the tweet. He didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry. he wasn’t lying. He was just confusing and unclear.”
A spokesperson for Newsom responded to Watters’ statement by saying, “Finding will be fun. See you in court, buddy.” Prior to filing the lawsuit, Newsom’s legal team had sent a demand letter to Fox News requesting a “formal retraction” and an on-air apology.
Newsom’s lawsuit accuses Fox News of “willfully” misrepresenting facts to gain favor with Trump and asserts that Watters “purposefully presented a false picture of President Trump’s statement.”
Fox News, upon the lawsuit’s filing, stated, “governor Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”
