Constantly making himself available to reporters and their questions hasn't prevented President Donald Trump from being accused of implementing an "anti-press playbook," according to Meredith Kopit Levien, president and CEO of The New York Times.
Levien made the accusation while speaking at a Financial Times conference in Hollywood, California, on Wednesday.
"There is an anti-press playbook at this point," Levien said about the Trump administration. "If you look at countries like Turkey and Hungary and India, those countries have elections but they also really work to quash opposition to the regime.
"What has that anti-press playbook looked like in those places? It’s harassment of journalists, it’s discrediting of independent journalism. And it looks like what we’re seeing here."
Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment on Levien's accusations.
Levien spoke two days after it was reported Trump sued the Times, four of its reporters, and publisher Penguin Random House for at least $15 billion, claiming defamation and libel, and citing reputational damage, a Florida court filing showed.
Trump's suit cites a series of Times articles, one an editorial prior to the 2024 presidential election, which said he was unfit for office, and a 2024 book published by Penguin titled "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success."
"The New York Times will not be cowed by this," Levien said, in her first public comments since the lawsuit was filed, according to the Financial Times.
She claimed the lawsuit "has no merit."
"It lacks any legitimate legal claims," Levien said. "I believe its purpose is to stifle independent journalism, to deter the kind of fact-based reporting that the Times and other institutions are known for.
"It will not have that effect. The Times will continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead, even when that is to uncomfortable places."
Trump’s suit is the president’s fourth multibillion-dollar defamation claim against a major U.S. news outlet since March 2024.
In July, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump over the editing of CBS' “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October.
Also in July, the president followed through on a threat to sue The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch over a story the paper published about an off-color letter he allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump, who denied writing the letter, is seeking damages of no less than $10 billion in the lawsuit alleging defamation, CNBC reported.
Walt Disney-owned ABC News agreed in December to give $15 million to Trump's presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air.
Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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