When 'Morning Joe' Host Laughed Off Trump's Claim That CNN 'Hurt His Reputation and Political Career'

In 2022, Donald Trump claimed that CNN had referred to his election fraud as "The Big Lie," likening him to Adolf Hitler. In light of the same, he filed a $475 million defamation lawsuit, which was dismissed by federal judge, Raag Singhal, in 2023. According to Reuters, Singhal, who was nominated by the former president in 2019, argued that CNN's statements could not be the basis of a defamation lawsuit because they were opinions rather than facts. During a news broadcast, Jonathan Lemire, co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, brought up the subject and poked fun at the Republican leader for believing that the CNN network had "hurt his reputation and political career." 

Lemire began by explaining that Trump had claimed the network's usage of the term "the Big Lie" was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. He then burst out laughing. According to The Wrap, the lawsuit focused on the television network's use of the term concerning statements made and acts taken in the wake of the Capitol uprising on January 6.

“But the judge, who was, we should note, appointed by Donald Trump — ruled CNN’s statements don’t meet the standard of defamation,” Lemire continued, “writing this— ‘CNN’s use of the phrase...in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people. No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference.’”

Singhal, who presides over the federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, concluded, "CNN's statements while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory." Following the defeat, Trump's spokesperson issued a statement that read, "We agree with the highly respected judge's findings that CNN's statements about President Trump are repugnant. CNN will be held responsible for their wrongful mistreatment of President Trump and his supporters." 

The lawsuit had outlined five occasions where Trump's claims regarding the 2020 election were referred to as his "The Big Lie" by CNN in either written or spoken statements. It argued that the phrase, which was once coined as Nazi propaganda constituted "a deliberate effort by CNN to propagate to its audience an association between the plaintiff and one of the most repugnant figures in modern history."

As per The New York Times, the judge further stated, “The Court finds Nazi references in the political discourse (made by whichever ‘side’) to be odious...But bad rhetoric is not defamation when it does not include false statements of fact." "Being 'Hitler-like' is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim,” the Florida judge declared. He dismissed the case with prejudice, which means that Trump is not allowed to use the same defense in subsequent litigation in the future.