MSNBC anchor goes haywire on Trump advisor before ending segment with furious threat

MSNBC host Ari Melber erupted at Trump aide Corey Lewandowski last night, threatening to sue him in an extraordinary on-air clash. 

Lewandowski had been invited onto Melber's show The Beat when Melber accused him of lying about past controversies involving the former president. 

Fighting back, Lewandowski tried to turn the tables. 

He harkened back to a July 16 segment in which Melber quoted a New York Times article about Trump himself being his 'biggest prop', which began three days after the assassination attempt that nearly claimed his life. 

The Times article described Trump walking into his VIP box with the convention 'with a large white bandage on his injured right ear'. 

It described the bandage as a 'reminder of mortality, a badge of survival — it was a blank rectangle on which the crowd could read what it wished, and that made it the most potent placard in the hall.' 

Melber, reacting to the Times piece, said: '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.' 

On Wednesday night's show, Melber denied that he'd called the bandage a 'spectacle'. 

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 old boss - when he arrived with a freshly bandaged ear days after a failed assassination attempt

'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.' 

Lewandowski pushed him: 'So you didn't say, "this bandage was a spectacle from a candidate who is obsessed with spectacles?" 

Melber shot back: 'I did not say that.  I did not say that, that is a false quote. What you have is a false quote.' 

He then went one step further. 

'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. I understand you are working off the internet which is a lot of false information.

'I wish you luck with that. Corey Lewandowski, we gave you time, I appreciate you coming on, thank you for joining me.'

Later on, Melber added his own spin on the quote, 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 interview ended there, after a little over 12 minutes.

The return of Lewandowski to the Trump fold comes as part of new campaign to pour cold water on Kamala Harris' newfound momentum. 

Lewandowski took to the airwaves Friday to reveal what is and is not changing now that he is being brought on board the campaign.

'We are 80 days from this election and really the truth is people start voting much earlier than that,' Lewandowski told Martha McCallum on Fox News. 

'We are really only 45 days before the ballots start going out, and so it's all hands on deck,' he said, referencing the mail-in ballots that Trump has often criticized in favor of in-person voting. Everybody who wants to be part of the team, there is a spot for,' he said.

McCallum introduced him as 'senior advisor,' then asked for clarification. 'Something like that I guess. I don't know if titles matter - the only title that matters is the president,' he responded. (Trump on Thursday said he would be a 'personal envoy.')

On Wednesday's The Beat, Trump's ex-campaign manager - now reinstated as his 'senior advisor - questioned Melber about the second assertion and its origin 

'The president has made the decision to continue to bring members into his team that want to make sure he's going to be successful,' he said.

After being fired weeks into Trump's 2016 campaign just before that year's convention, Lewandowski went on to praise Trump's new leadership team, saying he had no plans to look at the books of the operation. 

'It is an addition campaign, not a subtraction campaign,' he said. 

'I'm honored and humbled the president asked me to come back to bring this campaign to a winning successful election day in early November.'