On Wednesday night, MSNBC host Ari Melber erupted at Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski during a live broadcast, threatening legal action after Lewandowski used a previous statement against him.
The confrontation took place on Melber’s show, “The Beat,” where Melber accused Lewandowski of dishonesty regarding past issues involving former President Donald Trump.
In response, Lewandowski quoted from a July 16 episode of the show, where Melber had cited a New York Times article describing Trump as the RNC’s “biggest prop.”
Ari Melber just threatened Corey Lewandowski with a defamation suit. pic.twitter.com/bEuhbkVFO6
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) August 28, 2024
“On the first night of the 2024 convention, Mr Trump was his own biggest prop. (He) entered the V.I.P. box … with a large white bandage on his injured right ear,” the article read.
“That’s fair. A placard for delegates to fill in, an image for political mobilization, a spectacle, for this candidate who we know is by his own admission obsessed with assorted spectacles,” Melber said at the time reacting to The Times article.
Despite the transcript provided by Lewandowski, Melber denied having made the statement.
“I quoted a New York Times article that said Donald Trump was his own biggest prop. Fox News, many viewers may not know about this, Fox News ran a false piece, falsely stating that I said something else that I didn’t say,” the host said in defense.
“So you didn’t say, ‘this bandage was a spectacle from a candidate who is obsessed with spectacles?’” asked Lewandowski, challenging Melber’s statement.
“I did not say that. I did not say that, that is a false quote. What you have is a false quote,” Melber replied.
The MSNBC host didn’t stop there; he also threatened to pursue legal action against Lewandowski.
“I am putting you on notice – if you continue to repeat falsely that I said that, you will be potentially in a defamation situation because I didn’t say that,” he said. “I understand you are working off the internet which is a lot of false information.”
As Lewandowski tried to show proof of Melber’s statement, Melber ended the 12-minute interview, thanking him for his appearance. Later, Lewandowski posted a clip of the confrontation on X, along with physical evidence confirming that Melber had indeed made the statement.
“An MSNBC Host threatened to sue me for defamation tonight for (by definition) the opposition of defamation >> Quoting their own words. Watch for yourself and let me know what you think,” he wrote.
An MSNBC Host threatened to sue me for defamation tonight for (by definition) the opposition of defamation >> Quoting their own words.
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) August 29, 2024
Watch for yourself and let me know what you think. pic.twitter.com/Q97AnkWWah
Lewandowski, who served as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, is set to rejoin Trump’s 2024 campaign, as recently revealed. According to the Daily Mail, he was dismissed just before the start of the RNC, a few weeks after Trump launched his 2016 campaign.
Politico reported that Lewandowski has been brought on to advise the Trump campaign’s senior leadership team.
