Topline
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News for defamation Friday over host Jesse Watters’ claims that Newsom lied about the timing of his phone calls with President Donald Trump during protests in Los Angeles over Trump’s deportation policies, multiple outlets reported.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted an emergency temporary … More restraining order to stop President Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard, Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the California State Supreme Court building in San Francisco. (Photo by Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Key Facts
The $787 million lawsuit filed in Delaware cites Watters’ statement, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” which he made while Fox ran a chyron that said “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”
The reporting stems from Trump’s claims on June 10 that he last spoke with Newsom the previous day, a purported phone call Newsom said never occurred.
Newsom instead said publicly he spoke to Trump early on June 7 and provided call logs that corroborated the claim.
Newsom’s lawyers told Fox in a letter he would drop the lawsuit if the network apologized and retracted the report, The New York Times reported.
Crucial Quote
“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, referring to Fox’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 after the network claimed Dominion voting machines incorrectly counted Trump votes for former President Joe Biden.
Key Background
Newsom and Trump are long time nemeses whose latest public dispute centered around Trump circumventing Newsom to send military troops to California to monitor protests against Trump’s deportation policies. The feud prompted a heated back-and-forth between the two, with Trump claiming the military presence helped quell protests, while Newsom said it inflamed them. Newsom called Trump a “stone-cold liar” for alleging he gave Newsom advance notice of the National Guard deployment, while Trump repeatedly used his preferred “NewScum” nickname to refer to the California governor and alleged his “mistakes” and “incompetence” led to some unruly protests. Newsom’s administration has an ongoing lawsuit against Trump’s administration, claiming Trump overstepped his authority in deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Further Reading
Trump Takes Credit For Quelling LA Protests After Newsom Accuses Him Of Inflaming Demonstrations (Forbes)
Gavin Newsom Sues Fox News For $787M In Defamation Case Over Trump Call (Politico)
Newsom Sues Fox News For Saying He Lied About Call With Trump (The New York Times)
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Sara Dorn