President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against the New York Times and several of its reporters, accusing the newspaper of libeling him in several articles in the lead-up to last year’s presidential election.

Trump’s attorneys listed examples of the reporters’ coverage that touched on a range of subjects, including his wealth, business empire and rise to national prominence. “At the time such statements were made by Defendants, they knew or should have known that they were false and defamatory,” the lawsuit said.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, the New York Times said: “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting.” The publication added that it “will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”

Trump has frequently battled American media organizations in the courts and sparred over coverage he calls unfair or politically motivated. In his first term, Trump accused much of the news media of being an “enemy of the people.”

In Monday’s lawsuit, which seeks $15 billion in damages, Trump said that to win the presidency in 2024, he had to overcome “persistent election interference from the legacy media,” which he said was led by the New York Times. He also railed against the newspaper’s front-page endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, describing it as “deranged.”

Don Herzog, a law professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in the First...

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