Trump ditches 2025: See Corey Lewandowski talk abortion, RFK Jr. and vaccines with Ari Melber

>> ABSOLUTELY. WE HAVE THE DEBATE TO TALK ABOUT. PLENTY TO GET TO, BUT LET'S BEGIN WITH THE BIG NEWS THIS PAST WEEK. RFK JR. ENDORSES TRUMP. AS A CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL, MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, DOES THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN SEE THIS AS A MEETING OF TWO PEOPLE WHO AGREE OR STRANGE BEDFELLOWS WHO DISAGREE ON KEY ISSUES? >> WELL, LOOK, RFK PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE HAD THE SYSTEM BEEN NOT RIGGED AGAINST HIM, AND HE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VOICE IN THE PROCESS. I THINK HE WOULD HAVE BEAT JOE BIDEN, TO BE VERY HONEST WITH YOU, BUT HE DECIDED TO RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT, REALIZED THERE WAS NO PATH FOR HIM TO BE SUCCESSFUL THERE, AND WHEN IT SPECIFICALLY COMES TO THE ISSUES THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO HIM, HE DECIDED HE LOOKED AT BOTH OF THE CANDIDATES AND SAID, DONALD TRUMP IS THE BEST CANDIDATE TO LEAD GOING FORWARD, SO ON FRIDAY NIGHT OF LAST WEEK, WE HAD A MASSIVE RALLY IN GLENDALE, ARIZONA. >> YEP. >> RFK WAS, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTED AT A RESPONSE I NEVER HEARD FROM ANYBODY ELSE THAT DONALD TRUMP HAS INTRODUCED BEFORE. IT WAS AMAZING. THE CROWD WAS SO INVIGORATED AND WHAT I THINK IT ALSO DOES, R SFRKS K BRINGS A SPECIAL SUBSET TO THE CAMPAIGN, THOSE MOMS AND WOMEN, 25 TO 40 YEARS OLD, WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN AND THE VACCINES AND THE FOOD THAT THEY'RE BEING INGESTED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MANDATES THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS PUT ON SOME OF THOSE PRODUCTS, ARE COMING NOW TO THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN DISPROPORTIONATELY BECAUSE THEY SUPPORT THE BELIEF THAT RFK IS GOING TO HELP FIX THAT PROBLEM GOING FORWARD. >> OKAY. SO, YOU'RE SAYING THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN VIEWS HIM POSITIVELY ON THAT. WE ALSO GOT A PEEK INTO THEIR CONVERSATIONS BEFORE THE ENDORSEMENT IN A JULY PHONE CALL. I WANT TO PLAY SOME OF THAT. THIS IS TRUMP TALKING TO RFK. TAKE A LISTEN. >> I AGREE WITH YOU, MAN, SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THAT WHOLE SYSTEM. AND YOU KNOW, AND IT'S THE DOCTORS YOU FIGHT. REMEMBER HOW I SAID I WANT TO DO SMALL DOSES, SMALL DOSES. WHEN YOU -- WHEN YOU FEED A BABY, BOBBY, A VACCINATION THAT IS, LIKE, 38 DIFFERENT VACCINES, AND THEN YOU SEE THE BABY ALL OF A SUDDEN STARTING TO CHANGE RADICALLY. I'VE SEEN IT TOO MANY TIMES. AND THEN YOU HEAR IT DOESN'T HAVE AN IMPACT, RIGHT? >> GIVEN THAT STATEMENT AND WHAT YOU JUST SAID, IS DONALD TRUMP ENDORSING RFK JR.'S VACCINE CONSPIRACY THEORIES? THIS IS SOMEONE WHO AS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, BUT I'LL REMIND EVERYONE, RFK JR. HAS SAID THAT COVID ITSELF WAS MADE TO TARGET "BOTH CAUCASIANS AND BLACK PEOPLE." THAT HE "WON'T TAKE SIDES ON 9/11." THAT THE CIA CONTROLS THE AMERICAN PRESS. WHATEVER YOUR PRESS CRITICISMS,I HAVEN'T HEARD YOU TAKE THAT POSITION. HOW MUCH OF THIS SHOULD WE UNDERSTAND TO BE THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN'S POSITION, AND CAN YOU TELL US WHAT ROLE RFK JR. WOULD PLAY IN HEALTH POLICY? WE'RE HEARING REPORTS HE COULD BE INVOLVED IN THE TRANSITION TEAM. >> WELL, RFK JR. HAS BEEN SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN VERY STEADFAST IN MAKING SURE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE DECISIONS THAT AFFECT YOUR BODY, YOU GET TO CHOOSE, AND WHAT WE SAW WAS GOVERNMENT MANDATES, WHETHER YOU'RE A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, THE STATE LEVEL OR THE FEDERAL LEVEL, BEING FORCED TO TAKE AN INJECTION IN ORDER TO SAVE YOUR JOB, AND RFK WAS AGAINST THAT. BY THE WAY, I THINK A LOT OF AMERICANS -- >> I'LL LET YOU FINISH. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT POLICY, AND YOU ARE REFERRING TO SOMETHING THAT IS TRUE, THERE WAS A WIDE NATIONAL DEBATE ABOUT GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS. I WOULD JUST MENTION, I ASKED YOU, THOUGH, ABOUT RFK'S ACTUAL CONSPIRACY THEORIES. ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME THAT YOU AND DONALD TRUMP THINK COVID WAS HATCHED TO TARGET PEOPLE BY RACE, OR ARE YOU GOING TO REJECT THAT PART OF HIS AGENDA? >> I'M NOT HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR RFK JR. HE'S A BIG MAN. HE'S BEEN ON TELEVISION A NUMBER OF TIMES TO ANSWER HIS OWN QUESTIONS. WHAT I AM HERE TO TELL YOU IS THAT HE HAS A MICROPHONE TO AN AUDIENCE WHO'S VERY CONCERNED THAT THE GOVERNMENT MANDATED VACCINES INTO THEIR CHILDREN AND THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO KEEP THEIR JOBS, AND THERE'S REAL AMERICANS WHO LOST THEIR JOBS AND THEIR LIVELIHOODS BECAUSE OF WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DID TO THEM, AND I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO RFK, SPECIFICALLY THOSE MOMS WHO HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN, THEY'RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT IS BEING INJECTED INTO THEIR CHILDREN, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH THE FOOD SUPPLY OR THROUGH THESE VACCINES, AND RFK HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO OUT AND TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS RIGHT. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO MANDATE THOSE. WE DON'T KNOW THE FULL IMPACT OF WHAT WAS MANDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT ON THE LONG-TERM REPERCUSSIONS THAT IT COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE, SO WE'RE VERY MUCH IN LINE WITH RFK ON THAT POSITION. >> ALL RIGHT. I GOT YOUR ANSWER ON THAT. WE HAVE THE HEADLINES ABOUT YOU. YOU'RE NOT THE WHOLE FOCUS OF THIS INTERVIEW, BUT YOU WERE A BIG FIGURE IN '16, AND AS PEOPLE KNOW IN POLITICS, HAPPENS IN A LOT OF CAMPAIGNS, YOU WERE REPLACED. YOU'RE BACK HERE. IT SAYS DONALD TRUMP'S BRINGING YOU BACK. SOME PEOPLE, I'LL GIVE YOU TIME TO RESPOND, VIEW THAT AS A SIGN THAT HE THINKS SOMETHING WAS WRONG, THAT HE NEEDS THE OLD '16 TEAM OR NEEDS TO SHAKE IT UP. I ALSO WANT TO MENTION WE HAVE THE DEBATE COMING. TRUMP, AS YOU KNOW, HAS COMPLAINED PUBLICLY, VOCIFEROUSLY, ABOUT MANY DEBATES, INCLUDING THIS ONE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ON. THE TWO-PART QUESTION, CORY, ARE YOU BACK BECAUSE THE CAMPAIGN NEEDED A CHANGE, THAT THERE WAS SOME PROBLEM WITH THE CAMPAIGN OR THE TEAM AS OF LAST MONTH? AND SECOND, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN THIS DEBATE? IS IT REALLY ON? ARE THEY STILL SQUABBLING OVER THE MICS? WHY IS DONALD TRUMP SO WORRIED ABOUT THE MIC RULES? >> FIRST AND FOREMOST, I'M BACK BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT ASKED ME TO BE, NOT BECAUSE THERE WAS ANY CONCERN WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS ORGANIZATION. THEY HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB. LOOK AT WHAT THEY WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN A COMPETITIVE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FIELD, THE LARGEST SUCCESS THAT ANY CANDIDATE IN MODERN HISTORY HAS EVER HAD. BEFORE I EVER JOINED THIS CAMPAIGN, THEY DROVE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE OUT OF THE RACE, SOMETHING THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE, AND DONALD TRUMP IS GOING TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEAT TWO DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT. >> AND HE DID -- AND I'LL ASK YOU, TRUMP DID FINE IN THAT DEBATE, THAT HISTORY. DOES HE MISS BIDEN? SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE HE'D RATHER BE RUNNING THAT RACE. >> I THINK KAMALA IS AN EASIER TARGET. SHE IS SADDLED WITH THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S POLICIES, SHE HAS FLIP-FLOPPED ON WHAT SHE BELIEVES AND WHAT SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE AND AS IT RELATES TO THE DEBATE, ARI, JUST REMEMBER WHEN THE CRITERIA FOR THIS DEBATE WAS SET, IT WAS SET WITH THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN, NOT JUST WITH JOE BIDEN. SHE AGREED TO ALL OF THE TERMS, SPECIFICALLY AS IT WOULD HAVE PERTAINED TO A VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, WHICH SHE HAD AGREED TO. THAT MEANT, YOU STAND AT THE PODIUM, NO NOTES ALLOWED, AND WE HAVE THE MICROPHONES OFF. SHE WANTED TO CHANGE THAT CRITERIA BECAUSE SHE WENT FROM BEING THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE TO NOW THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE. WE ALL AGREED TO WHAT IT WAS. WHY SHE WANTED TO CHANGE IT, SHE WANTED TO BE THE SAME HEIGHT AS DONALD TRUMP, WANTED NOTES. THE FACT THAT SHE CONTINUES TO HIDE FROM THE MEDIA AND THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK IS FINALLY ON FOR HER OF WHEN SHE'S GOING TO SIT DOWN FOR HER FIRST NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA DEBATE SHOULD BE APPALLING TO EVERY JOURNALIST IN AMERICA THAT HAS TAKEN HER 20-PLUS DAYS TO SIT DOWN AND DO AN ON-CAMERA INTERVIEW. >> DO YOU FEEL YOU'RE GOOD ON AN AGREEMENT FOR THE DEBATE AND THE MICS? >> I THINK EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SETTLED AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THIS OPPORTUNITY. >> YOU MENTIONED KAMALA HARRIS. SHE HAS A NEW AD TODAY HITTING YOU GUYS ON SOMETHING THAT DONALD TRUMP USED TO TALK MORE SUPPORTIVELY ABOUT AND NOW HAS DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM. THIS IS A NEW AD. TAKE A LOOK. >> DETAILED PLANS FOR EXACTLY WHAT OUR MOVEMENT WILL DO. >> IT'S CALLED PROJECT 2025. A 922-PAGE BLUEPRINT TO MAKE DONALD TRUMP THE MOST POWERFUL PRESIDENT EVER. OVERHAULING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, GIVING TRUMP THE UNCHECKED POWER TO SEEK VENGEANCE. >> WHAT IS YOUR CAMPAIGN'S POSITION ON PROJECT 2025, NUMBER ONE, AND NUMBER TWO, IF YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT TRUMP HAS STARTED TO SAY, WHICH IS THAT HE'S NOT INVOLVED IN THIS THING, THEN WHY DO SO MANY PARTS OF THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM OVERLAP WITH '25? WE CAN PUT EXAMPLES ON THE SCREEN FOR YOU, INCLUDING, AS I THINK YOU KNOW, ABORTION, STREAMLINING DOJ, PURGING NONPARTISAN PUBLIC OFFICIALS. >> PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS SAID HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PROJECT 2025. I BELIEVE THE PROJECT HAS BEEN CLOSED. THAT WAS A PROJECT OF THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF GROUPS OUT THERE ON BOTH THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT WHO COME UP WITH POLICY INITIATIVES AND POLICY IDEAS BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THE CANDIDATE IS GOING TO IMPLEMENT THEM. THEY BELIEVE IN TRANSGENDER SURGERY WITHOUT NOTIFICATION FOR MINORS. DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS EVERYTHING THAT CAP ENDORSES? MAYBE IT DOES, CONSIDERING SHE'S GOT 60 PEOPLE OVER THERE AND HAS CALLED THEIR LEADER ONE OF THE FINEST LEADERS, SO IF THAT'S THE CASE AND WE'RE GOING TO HOLD CANDIDATES ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION OF BOTH THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT ARE DOING, THEN WE HAVE TO HOLD EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE, AND I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYBODY ASK KAMALA HARRIS -- I KNOW SHE HASN'T SAT FOR AN INTERVIEW, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT CAP 60 STAFF OR PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE ASKED ABOUT TOMORROW OR THE NEXT DAY WHEN DANA BASH IS THERE BECAUSE SHE -- IF SHE SUPPORTS THEIR IDEALS, THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE TO ANSWER FOR THEM AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. >> CORY, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DANA BASH WILL ASK, BUT ON THE ABORTION ISSUE, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, WE'LL PUT IT UP. OKAY. YOU NOW ON BEHALF OF THE CAMPAIGN ARE SAYING, '25 ISN'T YOURS. BUT THE CURRENT GOP PLATFORM HAS A 14th AMENDMENT EFFORT TO TRY TO GIVE WHAT THEY SOMETIMES CALL "FETAL PERSONHOOD" OR BASICALLY WOULD BE SYNONYMOUS WITH A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN. AND PROJECT 2025 TRIES TO ALSO GO AFTER, AS YOU KNOW, ABORTION RIGHTS, EVEN WOMEN'S RIGHT TO TRAVEL IF THEY WANT TO MOVE IN AND OUT OF THEIR STATE, WHICH PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO DO. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SUPPORT -- ON BEHALF OF THE CAMPAIGN, POLICIES THAT SAY A MAN OR A WOMAN CAN'T LEAVE THEIR STATE FOR A CERTAIN REASON. THAT'S A BIG LIBERTY CRACKDOWN. WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO CAN READ THESE TWO THINGS AND SAY, OKAY, TRUMP AND THE PLATFORM ARE BASICALLY '25 ON ABORTION? >> LOOK, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT 2025. YOU SAY IT'S 900-PLUS PAGES. I'M CERTAIN THE PRESIDENT HASN'T READ THAT DOCUMENT THAT PROLKT 2025 PUT OUT. PRESIDENT TRUMP DID WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OVERWHELMINGLY WANTED WHEN IT CAME TO THE ISSUE OF LIFE. HE RETURNED IT BACK TO THE STATES BY APPOINTING PRO-LIFE JUDGES AT THE SUPREME COURT WHO OVERTURNED ROE V. WADE AND NOW EVERY STATE GETS TO DECIDE WHAT THEIR RESPECTIVE STATE LOOKS LIKE AS IT RELATES TO THE HEALTH OF THE MOTHER, WHETHER IT HAS EXCEPTIONS OR NOT, BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING IT THE BALLOT BOX, ARI, AND WE'VE SEEN STATES LIKE KANSAS TAKE THE SAME POSITIONS AS MUCH MORE LIBERAL STATES AND THEN -- BUT LISTEN, WE'RE AN AMAZING DEMOCRACY. WE'RE AN AMAZING MELTING POT -- >> KANSAS -- I HEAR YOU. KANSAS WENT AGAINST TRUMP. WENT AGAINST YOUR CAMPAIGN. TRUMP HAS BEEN HIDING ON WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO ON THE FLORIDA STATE RULE, WHICH IS UP, AND HE LIVES THERE. ARE WE GOING TO GET A POSITION FROM HIM ON THAT? >> LOOK, IF THE PRESIDENT WANTS TO WEIGH IN, I'M SURE HE'LL WEIGH IN AT THE BALLOT BOX LIKE EVERY AMERICAN GETS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO. I THINK WE'VE GOT 16 STATES THAT HAVE THIS ISSUE AT THE BALLOT BOX, THE VOTERS GET TO DECIDE HOW THEY'RE GOVERNED. THAT'S HOW THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. THERE'S NO DICTATOR IN THE SYSTEM, SO LET THE PEOPLE GO DECIDE -- >> I HEAR YOU, BUT LET ME PUSH BACK, AND I'LL GIVE YOU TIME. I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT IF DONALD TRUMP PUTS PEOPLE ON THE SUPREME COURT WHO OVERTURN 50 YEARS OF PRECEDENT, AND THEN ALL THESE STATES, INCLUDING AS YOU MENTIONED, MORE CONSERVATIVE STATES LIKE KANSAS, ORGANIZE AND REVOLT AND PUSH BACK ON SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN SETTLED LAW, AT WHAT POINT DO YOU HAVE TO ADMIT ON BEHALF OF DONALD TRUMP AND THIS CAMPAIGN THAT THIS IS BEING REJECTED BY THE VOTERS, RED, BLUE, AND PURPLE, AND THAT THIS WASN'T A GOOD IDEA, THAT THIS WAS A CRACKDOWN ON RIGHTS. IF YOU SAY TO ME, THIS IS THE LABORATORIES OF DEMOCRACY, BUT MOST OF THE DEMOCRACY, INCLUDING RED STATES, SAYS, NO TO YOU, AT WHAT POINT DO YOU THEN RESPECT THAT AND REFLECT THAT IN HOW YOU GOVERN IF YOU ARE IN A SECOND TERM AND HOW YOU DEAL WITH THE SUPREME COURT? >> ARI, WE KNOW DONALD TRUMP'S BEEN VERY CLEAR WHEN HE RAN IN 2016, HE PUT OUT A LIST OF POTENTIAL CONSERVATIVE JUDGES THAT HE WOULD APPOINT. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNEW WHAT HIS POSITION WAS GOING TO BE ON THAT, AND HE WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT. NOW THAT THEY'VE RETURNED THIS DECISION TO THE STATES, I LIVE IN THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, WE GET TO VOTE ON IT, WHICH MAY LOOK DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS DOES, AND SO LISTEN, WHY WOULDN'T WE WANT THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE L