MSNBC host Ari Melber had harsh words for conservative commentator Corey Lewandowski after being asked about comments he made while covering the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month.
It all revolved around Melber’s portrayal of Donald Trump a month ago, when he arrived with a freshly bandaged ear days after a failed assassination attempt.
At the time, Melber, 44, said of Lewandowski’s boss: “On the first night of this convention, Trump was his biggest supporter. (He) walked into the VIP box… with a big white bandage on his injured right ear,” the New York Times quoted him as saying.
Melber later added his own spin to the quote, calling the moment “a picture for political mobilization, a spectacle for this candidate who, we know, is, by his own admission, obsessed with variety shows.”
Wednesday on The BeatTrump’s former campaign manager, now reinstated as his “senior adviser,” questioned Melber about the second claim and its source. Melber denied it was his and responded by saying his guest was heading for a “smear situation.”
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MSNBC host Ari Melber (left) had some harsh words for conservative commentator Corey Lewandowski (right) after being questioned about comments he made while covering the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month.
It revolved around Melber’s characterization of Donald Trump, Lewandowski’s former boss, as he arrived with a freshly bandaged ear days after a failed assassination attempt.
“I quoted a New York Times article that said that at the convention, Donald Trump ‘was his biggest supporter,'” Melber told his guest on Wednesday.
“It was a quote from the New York Times about how he…”
Lewandowski, famous for having been fired by Trump during his 2016 primaries, continued to intervene.
“Let me read it to you,” he said.
Melber, in turn, continued trying to finish his sentence.
” –how (Trump) had become such a central figure in the recovery from what was a horrific assassination attempt. Fox News–
“Let me read it to you,” Lewandowski, 50, said again, this time causing the progressive on the other end of the remote call to become visibly angry.
“Corey, I said I would address it,” Melber said. “I’m going to end: Fox News,
“Many viewers may not know about this, but apparently you do, and some do,” he continued.
‘Fox News, which was caught in a defamation case, published a fake article falsely claiming that I said something I didn’t.
“So I stand by that. I stand by the New York Times quote.”
At the time, Melber, 44, said of Lewandowski’s boss: “On the first night of this convention, Trump was his biggest supporter. (He) walked into the VIP box… with a big white bandage on his injured right ear,” the New York Times quoted him as saying.
Lewandowski, however, remained unconvinced and remained steadfast in his attempt to point out the MSNBC employee’s distorted memory.
—So, you didn’t say: “This bandage was an accessory, a show of a candidate obsessed with glasses.”
Melber, whose show is the most watched on MSNBC, responded: “Hey, Mr. Lewandowski, I didn’t say that. That’s a false quote.”
“I have it right here,” Lewandowski replied.
Melber, in response, accused the political strategist who last week joined Trump’s 2024 campaign as a senior adviser of producing a fake quote.
Lewandowski, undaunted, stands firm in his position
“You said it absolutely,” he said.
“What you have is a fake quote,” Melber replied.
“And yes, I warn you, if you continue to repeat, falsely, that I said that, you will potentially be in a defamation situation, because I did not say that.”
The seasoned presenter went on to admit: “But I understand that you are working through the internet, which has a lot of false information.”
Melber later added his own spin to the quote, calling the moment “a picture for political mobilization, a spectacle for this candidate who, we know, is, by his own admission, obsessed with variety shows.”
Lewandowski, who was not amused, replied: “Well, this is what I was saying. Right here.”
“I wish you luck with that,” Melber replied. “We gave you time.”
The interview ended there, after just over 12 minutes.
Lewndowski’s return to Trump’s team comes as part of a new campaign to pour cold water on Kamala Harris’s new momentum.
Lewandowski took to the airwaves on Friday to reveal what is and isn’t changing now that he has joined the campaign.
“We’re 80 days away from this election and the truth is that people are starting to vote much earlier,” Lewandowski told Martha McCallum on Fox News.
“It’s actually just 45 days until ballots start going out, so we all need to get to work,” he said, referring to mail-in ballots that Trump has often criticized in favor of in-person voting. “Anybody who wants to be part of the team, there’s a place for them,” he said.
McCallum introduced him as a “senior adviser” and then asked for clarification. “I guess something like that. I don’t know if titles matter; the only title that matters is president,” he replied. (Trump said Thursday that he would be a “personal envoy.”)
On Wednesday’s The Beat, Trump’s former campaign manager, now reinstated as his “senior adviser,” questioned Melber about the second claim and its source.
“The president has made a decision to continue to add members to his team who want to ensure that he will be successful,” he said.
After being fired weeks into Trump’s 2016 campaign, just before that year’s convention, Lewandowski praised Trump’s new leadership team and said he had no plans to overhaul the book.
“It’s a campaign of addition, not subtraction,” he said.
“I am honored and grateful that the President has asked me to return to lead this campaign to a successful Election Day in early November.”
