Trump's no-hope CNN lawsuit has nothing to do with the law

Former President Donald Trump is suing CNN for defamation and demanding $475 million in damages. His lawsuit has nothing to do with the law. Instead, it helps Trump mobilize his supporters as he looks toward a 2024 presidential run. For a few million dollars in legal fees, Trump has gained media attention while bolstering his political narrative of fighting media bias and elites.

Again, however, this lawsuit isn't about remedy under the law.

Trump's lawsuit takes particular issue with numerous CNN personalities who have compared him to Adolf Hitler. The lawsuit contains 53 separate references to the 1933-1945 Nazi leader of the Third Reich and ties its defamation claim to CNN pundits describing Trump's false claims about the 2020 presidential election as "the Big Lie." The lawsuit points out that Hitler also used the phrase "big lie" in a screed against Jews and Marxism in his Mein Kampf manifesto. Trump's lawyers take particular exception to CNN host Fareed Zakaria's presentation of Trump alongside Hitler. The Media Research Center's Brent Baker tells the Washington Examiner's Paul Bedard, "This Fareed Zakaria special was long begging