MSNBC's Ari Melber threatens Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski with defamation lawsuit on air

WASHINGTON, DC: MSNBC host Ari Melber threatened Corey Lewandowski with a defamation lawsuit over a "false quote" while interviewing him on the Wednesday, August 28 episode of 'The Beat.'

Lewandowski had served as former president Donald Trump's campaign manager in 2016, reported Mediaite. He appeared on the show after recently joining the campaign of the GOP nominee in the role of an adviser.

According to the publication, Lewandowski called out Melber towards the end of the interview over the comments he had made while covering the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.

At the time, the journalist quoted a New York Times article, saying, "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."

He followed up in his own words, calling the moment “an image for political mobilization, a spectacle for this candidate who, we know is, by his own admission, obsessed with assorted spectacles.”

The heated exchange between Ari Melber and Corey Lewandowski

"I quoted a New York Times article that said, at the convention, Donald Trump 'was his own biggest prop'. It was a New York Times quote about how he... how he had become such an important figure in rebounding from what was a horrific assassination attempt. Fox News..." stated Melber on the show.

Lewandowski twice tried to interject the host, saying, "Let me read it to you," but was promptly shut down by the latter, who snapped, "Corey, I said I’d address it. I’m gonna finish."

"Fox News, many viewers may not know about this, but apparently you do, and some do. Fox News, which has been caught in defamation, ran a false piece falsely stating that I said something else that I didn’t say. So, I stand on that. I stand on the New York Times quote," continued Melber.

"So, you didn’t say, 'This bandage was a prop, a spectacle from a candidate who’s obsessed with spectacles'?" asked Lewandowski, to which Melber replied, "Uh, Mr Lewandowski, I did not say that. That is a false quote."

As the Trump adviser repeatedly tried to attribute his quote to Melber, the most sternly stated, "What you have is a false quote. And if – 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. But I understand that you’re working off the internet, which has a lot of false information."

"Well, this is what it said. Right here," the guest tried to argue, but was shut down with, "I wish you luck with that. And Corey Lewandowski, we gave you time," by Melber.

Internet mocks Ari Melber for giving Corey Lewandowski air time

Netizens reacting to the news on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) slammed Corey Lewandowski, as well as called out Ari Melber for inviting him on his show. The following examples demonstrate the prevalent take.

"Why does Ari keep letting people like this on his show knowing they’re liars?" inquired a user.

"Thanks, Ari, for taking out the trash," wrote another.

"Why anyone books Corey Lewandowski is beyond me. You know what you’re getting," jibed one user.

"That’s all these people know how to do is lie. They find something on the internet, run with it, create a conspiracy on it and then spread it as much as possible. His campaign does it and he even does too. It’s pathetic," commented someone else.

"Corey is a morally bankrupt, lying sack of s**t," stated one individual.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.