Donald Trump can smell money in his battle with the BBC

Donald Trump loves a fight. In a sense, his row with the BBC always was going to end this way, with a $10bn claim for defamation against the corporation. On its own, an apology from the BBC was not enough – or at least he insists it was inadequate.

The BBC may matter to Britain and to large parts of the world, but not to Trump. It’s not American, not embedded in the DNA of his electorate. He can afford to rubbish it as much as he likes. He does so as well in the knowledge that his adversary is an arm of the British state. It’s not a private business but one in which Keir Starmer has a say. That gives him something he always seeks and treasures: leverage. The BBC ceases to be another opponent in a dispute but is a diplomatic bargaining chip, one he can use repeatedly against the British government.

It might be a coincidence that he gave the go-ahead to his lawyers at the moment he put the promised $31bn “prosperity deal” with the UK on ice, but it is remarkable how often developments collide in Trump world. The tech trade pact was hailed as a major coup by Starmer.

Reasons for its postponement were given as US dissatisfaction with new UK digital tax measures. The lawsuit against the UK public broadcaster was a separate story, on the same day. Yet it comes to the same thing since Trump’s golden rule when it comes to anyone he takes a dislike to is, “do what I say, don’t say what I do”.

In Trump’s eyes, what matters more than an apology is money and, in this case, he can smell money. For the BBC’s squirming to have real meaning, he believes, it must be accompanied by dollars, lots of them.

So, he is suing, on home turf, in a court in Florida. The BBC has done its homework – when he first threatened a lawsuit over Panorama’s editing of his Capitol Hill speech to make it appear as though he was exhorting violence when he wasn’t, the broadcaster was likely advised that while the manipulation was wrong, it did not actually damage his reputation because his encouragement was in character.

After all, there were no complaints about the programme, which occurred long ago, except by Trump and only when the splicing came to light. Plus, Trump is pursuing the BBC in the US, even though the episode never aired there – BBC iPlayer, the main streaming platform that carries Panorama, and BBC One, which originally showed it, are not available in the US.

So far, so good for the Beeb. But this is a vengeful adversary, one who is set on making a point, who will do whatever it takes, and costs. The BBC is not so blessed, either financially or with the certainty of trying to persuade a court in its own country.

As part of the process, Trump will be entitled to discovery, which requires the BBC producers and management to hand over every detail, pretty much, relating to that Panorama, before and afterwards, so that includes how the bosses reacted when the falsification was evident, what they think of Trump, how seriously they viewed it and him. That could prove embarrassing and leave the organisation, which prides itself on its objectivity, wide open to further charges of political bias.

Their strong argument may be undermined by what they said to each other, at a time when there was no legal risk as they saw it. Careless talk and emails back then could return to haunt them.

Trump has form in this regard. He adores haranguing and pursuing the “fake news media” as he sees his media critics. He’s not been afraid to resort to law, taking on some of the US’s biggest media corporations. Equally, though, he has been happy to settle. So, he reached a $15m settlement with ABC, part of Disney, over comments made by the anchor George Stephanopoulos. Likewise, he struck a $16m deal with Paramount, owner of CBS News, after an interview with his Democrat opponent Kamala Harris was edited in her favour.

Both suits were for much larger sums but, after some back and forth and infliction of a ritual humiliation, he climbed down.

Stars and worthies can speak up for the BBC as much as they like, but that will only add fuel to Trump’s loathing of what he sees as a liberal news and creative conspiracy to undermine him. None of them is likely to resonate with Trump anyway – unless they include, seriously, Rory McIlroy.

One might, and that is Starmer himself. Possibly another, King Charles. That would appeal: the prime minister and monarch begging for forgiveness, and the payment of cash, naturally.