Nobody Knows How Many Times Trump Has Been Sued — Here Comes Another

September 21, 2026

Source: CNBC, WIKIPEDIA, and Agencies

How Can a Man Whose Life Has Been a Never-Ending Lawsuit Serve Two Terms as President of 

the United States?

Three major news organizations, including MS NOW, CNN, and Politico, have announced plans to sue Donald Trump, challenging his decision to revoke their journalists' press credentials without prior notice or an opportunity to contest the decision. They argue that this action violates the First Amendment rights of the press. This latest legal challenge adds to Trump's extensive history in the courtroom.

Since taking office in 2016, he, along with his businesses and administration, has faced 61 media and defamation lawsuits, with nine of these occurring in 2026 alone as of August 18. Going back even further, from 1973 until his election as president, Trump and his businesses were embroiled in over 4,000 legal cases in U.S. federal and state courts. These legal battles spanned a wide range, including disputes with casino patrons, significant real estate lawsuits, personal defamation claims, and more than 100 business tax disputes. As for the exact number, it eludes us all; even the most intelligent bots have lost count.

The latest dispute began Friday, when Trump announced that the three outlets would be excluded from the White House, accusing them of publishing what he called lies and “fake news.” Journalists from the organizations were prevented from entering the White House Saturday, and their hard-pass credentials were taken away. The outlets are seeking an emergency court order restoring their access.

Trump subsequently shifted his justification. On Monday, he said the White House was not attacking the free press but was fighting what he called “FAKE NEWS,” describing it as a national security threat. The supplied report notes that Trump offered no evidence for the national-security claim.

The lawsuit is not occurring in isolation. The Associated Press already has a pending case against the White House over restrictions imposed on its journalists. In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that the administration's partial exclusion of AP journalists violated the First Amendment, holding that the government could not give access to some journalists while denying it to others because of their viewpoints. The administration appealed.

Trump's broader record of litigation involving the media is extensive. An Axios analysis published in August found 61 media and defamation lawsuits involving Trump, his businesses or his administration since 2015, including 16 in 2025 and nine during the first part of 2026. The tally includes lawsuits both filed by and against Trump-related parties, so it is not a count of the number of times Trump himself has been sued.

Trump has also personally brought numerous lawsuits against news organizations. The Washington Post's January 2026 review documented suits against ABC, CBS, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. Some were dismissed, while others were settled or remained pending.

What makes the latest confrontation significant is not simply another lawsuit. It is the continuing collision between a president's hostility toward unfavorable coverage and the constitutional protection afforded to journalists. The three organizations argue that the government cannot decide which news organizations may cover the president according to whether it approves of their reporting.

For Trump, the pattern has become remarkably consistent: criticize the coverage, attack the journalists, restrict their access, and then confront the resulting legal challenge in court. Whether this latest ban survives will now be decided not by Trump's social-media posts, but by the federal judiciary and the constitutional protections governing the press.