London (CNN) — Donald Trump’s assault on the media went global this week, as he threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over a documentary that his lawyer claimed made “false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory” edits to a speech the US president made before the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“I think I have an obligation to do it … because you can’t allow people to do that,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday. He said the BBC had “butchered” his “beautiful” and “calming” speech and “made it sound radical.”

The threat could tip the BBC into a financial abyss and has deepened the worst crisis for the British public broadcaster in recent history, raising questions about its future in a polarized media and political landscape.

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