MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell on Tuesday excoriated President Donald Trump as “the most ridiculous litigant” in U.S. political history for suing The New York Times and four of its reporters over articles and a book he said were published to damage his reputation.
The lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida accused Times reporters Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, as well as Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner — the authors of “Lucky Loser” (2025) — and publisher Penguin Random House.
It alleges they timed the release of the book and various articles with “actual malice” against Trump “to inflict maximum electoral damage” ahead of the 2024 presidential election and asks for damages of at least $15 billion, prompting O’Donnell’s scorn.
In an unbridled monologue on “The Last Word,” he noted that the president has filed “more frivolous lawsuits” than any other American politician. O’Donnell also lauded the four defendants named in the filing, describing them as the “new honor roll” at the paper.
He continued, “And those four names appear in the defendant block of this crazy lawsuit filed by Donald Trump today, which takes place now as the single-most ridiculous lawsuit ever filed by the most ridiculous litigant in American political history, Donald Trump.”
O’Donnell noted that the three articles Trump included in his complaint hit stands last year before the election, and posited that his “lawsuit factory” likely has “stacks” of potential filings on hold until he “really needs” one to distract from his administration’s blunders.
“Today was one of those days,” O’Donnell said.
He explained, “Donald Trump knew that the most incompetent FBI director in history, who is also incompetent at actually tying a necktie, would be testifying in the Senate Judiciary Committee about Donald Trump’s old friend, Jeffrey Epstein.”
FBI Director Kash Patel was veritably skewered Tuesday on a variety of issues, including Epstein, the late sex offender who once described Trump as his “closest friend.” O’Donnell said on his show that Trump “knew he would want something to distract from that.”
The host also noted that the Times published a potentially consequential report on Monday into Trump’s finances, which showed he and his family’s cryptocurrency firm received $2 billion earlier this year in the form of an investment from the United Arab Emirates.
O’Donnell said the foreign investment in this cryptocurrency firm arrived around the same time of another agreement — for the United Arab Emirates “to obtain the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips” from the U.S., as the Times reported Monday.
“Now, that would be an impeachable offense for any other president in history,” he said, adding: “Just imagine what Republicans would be saying tonight if Joe Biden did that. Just imagine what Republicans would be saying if any Democrat ever did anything like that.”
O’Donnell read a statement on the air Tuesday from the paper regarding Trump’s lawsuit.
“This lawsuit has no merit,” a spokesperson wrote. “It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”
The statement concluded, “We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment rights to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
