California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday sued Fox News, accusing the network of deliberately misrepresenting his recent phone call with President Donald Trump. The suit, lodged in Delaware where Fox is based, seeks at least $787 million in damages and calls for a court order to stop the network from airing or publishing content that falsely claims Newsom lied about the conversation.The lawsuit centers on a segment from Fox News host Jesse Watters, which allegedly featured a deceptively edited video of Trump to back claims that Newsom had misled the public. The governor’s legal team argues that the coverage was not only inaccurate but also intentionally damaging, regarding Trump’s recent decision to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles.Newsom has increasingly taken a confrontationalist approach ever since Trump sent troops in LA this month amid his administration’s immigration crackdown. Newsom’s lawyers also sent a five-page letter to the media house summarizing the lawsuit, filled with sharp attacks on the network’s integrity and mocking remarks about Trump’s mental sharpness, reported Politico.“It is perhaps unsurprising that a near-octogenarian with a history of delusionary public statements and unhinged late-night social media screeds might confuse the dates,” the lawyers wrote. “But Fox’s decision to cover up for President Trump’s error cannot be so easily dismissed.”The letter also stated that the governor was ready to drop the suit if Fox retracts its claim and the host Jess Watters renders an on air apology.The amount sought by Newsom is nearly the same $787.5 million in damages that Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle a high-profile defamation case involving false claims about the election. His lawsuit comes at a time when President Trump has also launched multiple legal battles against major media outlets and corporations, many of which have ended in multi-million dollar settlements.“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences, just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom told Politico in a statement. “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”Newsom says his last phone call with Trump lasted about 16 minutes and took place on June 7, just one day before Trump ordered 2,000 troops to Los Angeles, despite Newsom’s objections, to respond to ongoing protests. On June 8, Newsom spoke about the phone call on MSNBC.However, on June 10, Trump told reporters he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago,” suggesting the call happened the same day 700 US marines were sent to Los Angeles. Newsom quickly disputed that timeline in a post on X, rejecting Trump’s statement.“There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to,” Newsom said in the post.That evening, Jesse Watters aired a shortened version of Trump’s comments and questioned, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” At the same time, he displayed a screenshot of the president’s call log, provided by Fox host John Roberts, which actually confirmed Newsom’s account that their last conversation took place on June 7.The lawsuit accuses Fox News of intentionally misrepresenting the dispute between Newsom and Trump to damage Newsom’s political future. His legal team argues the coverage meets the standard for defamation and could hurt his support with voters and donors. They also claim Fox’s actions violated California’s unfair competition law by engaging in deceptive business practices.
