Well, well, well—turns out Chris LaCivita doesn’t take kindly to being called a grifter, especially when the accusation is being thrown around by that paragon of journalistic integrity, The Daily Beast.
LaCivita, a top adviser to President Trump’s 2024 campaign, just slapped the Beast with a defamation lawsuit over its October piece claiming he raked in $22 million from Trump World. Except—whoops—it wasn’t $22 million. It was $19.2 million. And even that didn’t go into LaCivita’s personal bank account, but to his firm. You know, the one that handles vendors, buys ad time, and actually runs campaigns instead of typing hit pieces in Brooklyn coffee shops.
And now, after multiple warnings, three letters from his lawyers, and a mild correction buried at the bottom of the article like a parking ticket on a windshield, LaCivita has had enough. He’s lawyering up, marching into court, and basically telling The Daily Beast what half of America has been dying to say to the media for years: “You’ve been playing fast and loose with the facts, and now you’re going to pay for it.”
Oh, and let’s not overlook the man’s succinct public statement on X: “F— around and find out.” That’s not just a warning—it’s a mood. And honestly? It’s about time someone with a high profile put these smug, agenda-driven news outlets on notice. Because what The Daily Beast pulled here is not investigative journalism—it’s sloppy, biased reporting dressed up as a scoop. They didn’t just get a number wrong; they misled readers about where the money went, made it sound like LaCivita was stuffing campaign checks into his sock drawer, and then tried to downplay it with a little “oops, our bad” footnote.
Mark Geragos, a lawyer for Mr. LaCivita, said The Daily Beast “should have investigated and followed the money before publishing lies in order to get clicks and push their political agenda.” https://t.co/FYWlAWdOI1 via @NYTimes
— Mark Geragos (@markgeragos) March 24, 2025
The Beast is, of course, already painting themselves as the noble victim of some dark authoritarian plot to “silence the free press.” Please. These are the same people who think journalistic freedom includes floating half-truths about conservatives, editing quotes out of context, and labeling anyone to the right of Chuck Schumer a threat to democracy.
Their defense? That the lawsuit is “meritless” and they’re just eager to “follow the money.” Translation: they’re scrambling to justify a mistake they already admitted—but not really. Because why issue a real apology when you can virtue signal about “standing by your reporting” while watching your credibility go up in flames?
Let’s be real: if the roles were reversed, and a conservative outlet had printed a factually incorrect piece smearing a top Biden adviser, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. There’d be congressional hearings, cable news meltdowns, and probably a 12-part Netflix docuseries. But when it happens to a Trump aide? The default media reaction is: he deserves it.
The fact that the RNC is backing LaCivita’s lawsuit is another sign that Republicans are done playing defense. This isn’t just about setting the record straight—it’s about drawing a line. Media outlets don’t get to smear people, profit off the clicks, and then shrug their shoulders when called out. The Trump team’s recent legal wins—like ABC settling for $15 million over the Stephanopoulos defamation fiasco—show that they mean business. And if that CBS “60 Minutes” editing job on Kamala lands them in more hot water? Even better.
In the meantime, The Daily Beast can enjoy sifting through invoices and emails during discovery, because if they want to “follow the money,” LaCivita’s lawyers will be more than happy to help them do just that—in court, under oath, and with receipts.
Good luck with that.
