The US president has thanked The Telegraph for exposing their “corrupt” competitors
US President Donald Trump has accused the BBC of interfering in the 2024 presidential election, claiming the British state-funded broadcaster attempted to manipulate public perception by editing coverage of his January 6, 2021 speech.
BBC Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness announced their resignations on Sunday, amid a scandal over an hour-long documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?, which first aired just a week ahead of last year’s US presidential election.
“The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The controversial documentary featured a spliced video of Trump’s speech, combining remarks made nearly an hour apart and juxtaposing them with footage of protesters that was actually filmed before Trump began speaking.
The scandal was triggered by a whistleblower memo from former BBC standards adviser Michael Prescott, which was exposed by The Telegraph last week. The report alleged that senior executives ignored complaints raised by the corporation’s own standards watchdog.
“Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election,” Trump said.
“What a terrible thing for Democracy!” the US president added, noting that the alleged election meddling came “from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally.”
The BBC is funded through a compulsory licence fee of £174.50 ($229), with the UK government also subsidising a third of its World Service programming. The White House had previously criticised the broadcaster as a “Leftist propaganda machine” and “100 percent fake news,” accusing it of being “purposefully dishonest” in its portrayal of Trump.
The incident is not the first time Trump has alleged British interference in the 2024 election. Last October, his campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the UK’s Labour Party of aiding the Democrats by sending party operatives to work in key swing states. British officials denied wrongdoing, insisting that the work was legal and unpaid.
