U.S. President Donald Trump plans to sue BBC for what he claims was a damaging and misleading edit of his speech.
The President insisted that he still intends to take legal action worth between $1 billion and $5 billion.
Moreover, he made it clear that he will not step back from his threat.
The tension escalated after the BBC issued an apology on Friday.
The broadcaster apologized for an “error of judgment” in a Panorama clip that appeared to show Trump encouraging violence before the January 6 Capitol riot.
However, the BBC also stressed that its apology did not mean it accepted wrongdoing on the scale Trump described.
According to Trump, the edit created a false picture of his remarks.
Therefore, he demanded a full retraction, a direct apology, and compensation from the BBC.
The network had been given a deadline to respond to what was described as a $1 billion legal warning.
In a statement on Friday, the BBC said the programme would “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms.”
Furthermore, the broadcaster added that “while the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree that there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
After the BBC declined to meet Trump’s full demands, the President responded sharply during a GB News interview.
He stated that he felt a duty to take the matter further.
“I’m not looking to get into lawsuits, but I think I have an obligation to do it. This was so egregious,”he told GB News host Bev Turner. In addition, he argued that not taking action would allow similar issues to continue.
“If you don’t do it, you don’t stop it from happening again with other people,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trump spoke with journalists outside the White House on Friday and repeated his intention to sue.
“We’ll sue them from anywhere between $1 billion and $5 billion, probably sometime next week,” he said.
“I think I have to do it,” he added, highlighting the seriousness of his plan.
With the Panorama clip withdrawn and the apology issued but not accepted, the next steps may shape a long legal and public battle.
