A heated interview between MSNBC host Ari Melber and Corey Lewandowski ended with shouting and threats of a lawsuit after the Trump advisor read the liberal host’s own criticisms of the former president back to him.
Video of the exchange circulating online shows a flustered Melber demanding that Lewandowski immediately refrain from committing “defamation” by reading a quote from a prior appearance where the MSNBC host called the bandage from former President Donald Trump’s near-assassination a “spectacle.” Melber, an attorney who has been on-camera with the network since 2017, lost it after his Republican guest called him out for suggesting that President Trump was milking sympathy following the July 13th shooting. The interview was originally meant to allow Lewandowski to respond to criticisms about a recent “improper request” by Trump.
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Citing a new Fox News report, Melber claimed the network “ran a story falsely suggesting I said something that I didn’t say,” waving his hands for effect. “So I stand on that, I stand on the New York Times quote” which characterized his remark differently. Lewandowski was incredulous. “So you didn’t say ‘this bandage was a prop, a spectacle, from a candidate who is obsessed with spectacles,’” he asked. “I did not,” Melber repeated. Video shared by popular X influencer Collin Rugg showed otherwise.
During MSNBC’s coverage of the Republican National Convention in July, Melber spoke about delegates on the floor who showed their solidarity with Trump by wearing their own ear bandages during the event. “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. The video cuts back to the host who then goes nuclear before ending the interview.
“Mr. Lewandowski, I did not say that. That is a false quote. What you have is a false quote, and if you… I’m 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. I understand you’re working off the internet, which has a lot of false information,” he threatened. “This is what it says right here!” the Trump advisor continued before Melber cut him off. “Corey Lewandowski, we gave you time. Thank you for joining me.” Lewandowski took a parting shot. “You owe the president an apology for that.”
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NEW: MSNBC host Ari Melber loses it and threatens to sue Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski for defamation.
The threat came after Lewandowski called out Melber for calling Trump’s post-assas*ination attempt ear bandage a “spectacle.”
Lewandowski: So you didn’t say this… pic.twitter.com/1kI6Xk2nVZ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 29, 2024
Just days after the former president narrowly avoided death in a brazen assassination attempt, Democratic voters and mainstream media voices criticized his use of a gauzy bandage to cover up the bloody wound on his ear. “We still don’t know what is the actual injury to Donald Trump’s ear that’s under that bandage,” said MSNBC host Joy Reid in a selfie video at the time where she suggested he was not struck by a bullet. An FBI investigation of the shooting confirmed unequivocally that Trump was hit by a round from an AR-15 assault rifle. One Democratic voter claimed the shooting “almost looked real” in a man-on-the-street interview while disgraced former news anchor Keith Olbermann went full tilt. “Trump’s dream comes true! He actually gets one of his cultists to try to kill without telling them to kill and thus making himself culpable,” he said in a social media video.
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