A Florida judge has given the green light to a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump against ABC News and its anchor George Stephanopolous. The lawsuit stems from comments Stephanopolous made in March, in which he stated that Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a civil case. Judge Cecilia Altonaga noted that while some might think Stephanopolous’s segment provided enough context, there’s potential that a jury could see things differently, as they could consider Trump to have been defamed.
Trump celebrated this ruling on his platform, Truth Social, describing it as a major victory against the “fake news” and George Stephanopolous. He predicts that this case could catalyze the media to start delivering the truth.
A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS, AND LIDDLE’ GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS. A POWERFUL CASE! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WILL BE FORCED BY THE COURTS TO START TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA2024!@realDonaldTrump Donald…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 24, 2024
Stephanopolous made the comments during an intense interview with Rep. Nancy Mace on his Sunday program. After Mace discussed her own experiences as a rape victim, Stephanopolous asked her how she managed to endorse Trump, given the testimony they’d just heard. He repeated claims of Trump’s liability for…key phrase…”rape” and defamation of the victim multiple times during their conversation.
Interestingly, a jury did find Trump liable for “sexual abuse,” which differs from rape under New York law. That’s what got Stephanopolous who doubled down when he appeared on a late-night talk show later in May.
Ex-President Donald Trump is suing ABC News and its Sunday anchor George Stephanopolous over this exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace that occurred on “This Week” in which the journalist repeatedly said he was found legally liable for rape. [ABC News] https://t.co/E2XVJV2VhD $DIS pic.twitter.com/EVK5jHQSwb
— TheDesk.net (@TheDeskDotNet) March 19, 2024
In light of the lawsuit, Trump suggested that another news network might be a more suitable host for the debate between himself and possibly Vice President Kamala Harris.
In response, formal letters were sent out to both the Trump and Harris campaigns proposing a debate in September. The letters expressed an interest in hosting a presidential debate between Trump and now presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, suggesting Pennsylvania as the location, considering that early voting is starting there and in other key battlegrounds.
