President Donald Trump is once again at the center of a storm involving America’s largest financial institutions and major media outlets, threatening legal action against both JPMorgan Chase and CBS News within a single week. The latest moves highlight Trump’s ongoing battle with what he perceives as institutional bias—be it from banks or broadcasters—and raise questions about the intersection of politics, finance, and the press in the run-up to a pivotal election year.
On January 17, 2026, Trump took to his favored social media platform to announce his intention to sue JPMorgan Chase, accusing the banking giant of “debanking” him in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. “I’ll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest, a protest that turned out to be correct for those doing the protesting,” Trump wrote in a public post, reiterating his long-standing claim that the 2020 presidential election was “RIGGED!” (as reported by CNBC).
This legal threat comes amid Trump’s broader campaign against what he calls political discrimination by financial institutions. In August 2025, he signed an executive order mandating that banks must not refuse financial services to clients based on their religious or political beliefs—a practice widely known as “debanking.” The order was intended to address concerns from Trump and his allies that major banks were shutting out individuals or organizations for their political views, though critics have questioned the scale and veracity of such claims.
Trump’s feud with JPMorgan is not new. In an interview with CNBC in August 2025, he alleged—without providing concrete evidence—that both JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America had refused to accept his deposits after his first term in office. JPMorgan, for its part, has publicly denied that it closes accounts for political reasons. Bank of America, meanwhile, declined to comment on individual client matters but did say it would welcome clearer regulatory guidance on these issues.
Financial tensions have also spilled over into the Trump family’s business decisions. Donald Trump Jr. explained in a June 2025 interview with CNBC that the family’s foray into cryptocurrency was born not out of trend-chasing, but out of necessity. “So, [my family] got into crypto, not because it was like, ‘hey, this is the next cool thing,’ we got into it out of necessity,” Trump Jr. stated, pointing directly to their difficulties accessing services from big banks.
Recent market movements have added fuel to the fire. JPMorgan’s shares dropped about 5% over the week leading up to Trump’s announcement, despite the bank posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. The decline came in the wake of Trump’s demand that financial firms cap credit card rates at 10%, giving them until January 20, 2026, to comply—a move that rattled the entire banking sector.
Trump’s antagonism toward JPMorgan has also spilled into the realm of high-level appointments. In the same January 17 social media post, Trump denied a report from The Wall Street Journal that he had offered JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon the position of Federal Reserve chairman during a White House meeting months earlier. “This statement is totally untrue, there was never such an offer,” Trump wrote. He went on to criticize the Journal for not reaching out to him before publishing the story, adding, “Why wouldn’t The Wall Street Journal call me to ask whether or not such an offer was made? I would have very quickly told them, ‘NO,’ and that would have been the end of the story.” The Journal and JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to CNBC. It’s worth noting that current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s term ends on May 15, 2026, making the question of succession a live issue in Washington and on Wall Street.
Meanwhile, Trump’s combative approach to perceived slights is not limited to the financial sector. Just days before the JPMorgan announcement, on January 13, 2026, Trump completed a 13-minute interview with CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil in Michigan. But the interview’s aftermath quickly made headlines itself. According to a recording obtained by The New York Times, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a pointed message to CBS journalists on Trump’s behalf: “He said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full.’” When Dokoupil assured her that the network would air the interview as recorded, Leavitt doubled down: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”
This threat was not an idle one. In 2024, Trump had sued CBS over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview, resulting in a $16 million settlement paid by the network’s corporate parent. Legal experts at the time widely questioned the merits of Trump’s case, but the settlement underscored the risks media organizations face when dealing with high-profile political figures willing to take disputes to court.
The dual legal threats—against one of the world’s largest banks and a major broadcast network—illustrate Trump’s willingness to use litigation as a tool in his ongoing battles with institutions he believes are aligned against him. For supporters, these moves are seen as a defense of free speech and fair treatment in both finance and the media. Critics, however, argue that Trump’s aggressive tactics are designed to chill dissent and intimidate organizations into compliance.
JPMorgan and the White House have so far declined to comment publicly on the threatened lawsuit, while CBS has not addressed the latest warning directly. The banking sector, for its part, remains wary of political interventions in its business practices. Bank of America’s statement welcoming clearer rules from regulators hints at the uncertainty banks face as political rhetoric heats up and regulatory frameworks remain in flux.
As for the media, the specter of litigation continues to shape how interviews and coverage are handled, especially when it comes to high-stakes political figures. Trump’s insistence that his interviews be aired in full—backed by the threat of legal action—reflects a broader distrust of mainstream media editing practices among his base, and a determination to control the narrative heading into another contentious election season.
The coming weeks will reveal whether Trump follows through on his threat to sue JPMorgan Chase, and whether his approach to the media changes as the campaign intensifies. What’s clear is that the lines between politics, business, and journalism are blurrier than ever—and that Trump remains a master at keeping himself, and his grievances, in the headlines.