California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for defamation, seeking $787 million in damages. The lawsuit centers on comments made by host Jesse Watters, who publicly labeled Newsom a “liar” during a broadcast in June while discussing a phone call between the governor and President Donald Trump. The call reportedly focused on sending the National Guard to Los Angeles during a wave of protests.
Newsom accuses Fox News of misleading edits
Newsom’s legal team claims Fox News intentionally edited the segment to mislead viewers and push a false narrative that the governor had lied. In a post on the social media platform X announcing the lawsuit Friday, Newsom wrote, “No more lies.”
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The $787 million figure mirrors the amount Fox News agreed to pay in a high-profile settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023. In that case, the network admitted no wrongdoing but resolved a defamation suit after repeatedly airing false claims that Dominion’s voting machines helped rig the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“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 said in a statement to Politico, “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”
What is the dispute about?
Gov. Gavin Newsom details a 16-minute phone call with Trump on June 7. That call, according to Newsom, came one day before Trump sent 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, an action Newsom opposed. He said during the call, he wasn’t told Trump would federalize the troops’ deployment.
Trump offered a different timeline. During a June 10 Oval Office press conference, he said he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago,” suggesting the two had been in contact which would be the same time 700 U.S. Marines were also sent into the city.
“Called him up to tell him to do a better job. He’s doing a bad job, causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death,” Trump said to reporters.
Newsom took to X, saying there was no call or voicemail from the president as he had claimed.
Fox News obtained a screenshot of Trump’s call log allegedly showing the phone call on June 7, which aligned with Newsom’s claims. During the segment, Watters questioned why Newsom would claim Trump never called him. He cited Trump’s comments from the Oval Office and showed a screenshot to support the claim.
Newsom, widely viewed as a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election, alleges that Fox News’ actions have damaged his reputation with voters and could affect his future political prospects.
Lawsuit mirrors President Trumps legal action
Newsom’s legal action echoes tactics used by Trump, who has frequently accused media outlets of defamation or of deceptively editing news segments to damage his reputation. Currently, Trump is in a legal battle with CBS News, which began in late 2024. Trump is accusing the network of manipulating an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to mislead viewers during the 2024 presidential race.
The segment aired on “60 Minutes” and, according to the suit, omitted key parts of Harris’ responses in a way that Trump claims amounted to election interference. A mediator proposed $20 million to Trump after he had previously turned down a $15 million settlement. Although Trump wants a public apology from CBS, that offer isn’t included in the new proposal.
Trump also settled with ABC News in December for $15 million based on anchor George Stephanopoulos making a claim Trump that was found civilly liable for rape. According to Politico, Trump was found civilly liable for sexual abuse, not rape under the legal definition. The judge later said it was fair to describe the outcome as him being found liable for rape.
What happens next?
Newsom and his legal team have indicated they would be willing to drop the lawsuit if Fox News issues a formal retraction of its segment and Watters delivers a live on-air apology to the governor.
