YouTube said Monday it would settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump for more than $24 million, adding to a growing list of settlements with tech and media companies that have amassed millions of dollars for Trump’s projects.
Trump sued after his YouTube account was banned in 2021. After the Jan. 6 riot, YouTube said content posted to Trump’s channel raised “concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.” His account was reinstated in 2023.
Monday’s settlement makes YouTube the last major tech platform to settle a lawsuit with Trump, who similarly sued Meta and Twitter for banning his accounts in the aftermath of Jan. 6. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, settled for $25 million, while Twitter, since renamed X, settled for about $10 million.
A notice of settlement for Trump’s lawsuit against YouTube details that $22 million of it will go toward building a new White House ballroom. Trump has touted that the addition will have room for 900 people, and the White House has said it could cost $200 million to build.
Other plaintiffs that joined Trump’s suit, such as the American Conservative Union and a number of other people, will get $2.5 million of the settlement.
In addition to tech companies, many major media outlets have settled lawsuits with Trump over the past year.
In July, Paramount Global settled with him for $16 million after he took issue with a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that aired on CBS.
In December, Disney settled with Trump over a lawsuit in which he accused ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos of defamation in an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. Disney paid Trump’s future presidential library $15 million as part of the settlement.
Disney came under pressure from the administration again when it recently suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for nearly a week after two major station owners threatened to stop airing the show. One of the station owners, Nexstar, is seeking clearance from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman for a $6.2 billion merger.
The other station owner, Sinclair, is reportedly considering a merger, which the FCC would also need to approve.
Trump is also suing The Wall Street Journal over its reporting about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and he recently sued The New York Times for $15 billion. A judge struck down that lawsuit, though Trump could refile it.
