Kit Roberts
Donald Trump has revealed his plans for a multi-million dollar payout from YouTube.
Trump brought a lawsuit against YouTube over its suspension of his account following the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol building.
A court filing has revealed that other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory, and Naomi Wolf.
The money Trump receives from the settlement will be set aside in an entity called the Trust for the National Mall, which is exempt from being taxed.
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Trump, known for taste in interior decor, which might be described as 'if King Midas walked into the Palace of Versailles and sneezed', already has plans in place for the enormous sum.
This is in the construction of the White House Ballroom, a project Trump has recently spent a lot of time talking up, including in media appearances following the shooting of far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk.
The social media platform agreed to pay out some $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump and others over his suspension from YouTube in 2021, including $22m to Trump and $2.5m to other plaintiffs.
Even the $22m payout from YouTube will be a drop in the ocean for the project, which is estimated to be costing a whopping $200m.
The settlement comes as a result of Trump's suspension from YouTube following the attempted insurrection by his supporters at the Capitol Building on January 6 2021.
Thousands of Trump supporters stormed into the Capital building, lounging in the chamber itself, and even bringing makeshift gallows in a chilling threat.
In a surreal moment, one supporter was even photographed carrying the Confederate Battle Flag inside the building.
Trump was suspended from YouTube following the attempted insurrection, before having his profile restored two years later so that voters could 'hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election'.
But Trump would then claim that the ban had stopped him from 'exercising his constitutional right of free speech'.
YouTube is not the first company to settle with the president following the suspension of his accounts in the aftermath of the insurrection.
Meta, the owners of Facebook and Instagram, settled with Trump in January this year by making a $22m donation to Trump's presidential library, as well as a payment of $3 million to cover legal fees.
The following month in February X, owned by Trump's on-off ally Elon Musk, paid him $10 million to settle a lawsuit according to reports from the Wall Street Journal.