CNN Panel Can Hardly Contain Itself as Katrina Pierson Launches Into Insane Defense of Donald Trump

Donald Trump surrogates Corey Lewandowski and Katrina Pierson discovered the hard way that making up excuses for a sexual predator while categorically denying sexual assault ever took place isn’t the easiest task.

CNN Tonight brought on the dynamic duo to discuss the recent onslaught of allegations levied against the Republican nominee. The panel focused specifically on accusations made by Jessica Leeds, now 74, who says Trump groped her "like an octopus" on a New York-bound flight more than 30 years ago.

Lewandowski questioned the timing of the allegations before insisting that other people sitting in first class “would notice if an octopus was grabbing you.”

“I think there’s a lot of holes in this story,” he added.

“We have by my count now 12 different women who've claimed Donald Trump has done inappropriate things, many of them quite similar to the things he boasted about—groping in particular," Atlantic colomnist Peter Beinart said. "My question for you, Corey and Katrina, do you really want to spend your evenings for the next few weeks trying to pretend all of these 12 women are lying? Don’t you have something better to do?”

Host Don Lemon then turned to Trump mouthpiece Katrina Peirson, pressing her on whether she believes the 12 women who have come forward thus far to accuse the Republican nominee of sexual assault.

Pierson immediately launched into attack on the New York Times, arguing the paper has a cozy relationship with Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton, before Lemon cut her off. The conversation degenerated from there.

“Can you answer my question directly first?” the host asked.

“This is what happens to Trump people,” Pierson complained.

“If she was groped on a plane, it wasn’t by Donald Trump, and it certainly wasn’t in first class,” Pierson continued, after reciting a laundry list of planes that existed (or may not have) in 1980, and explaining that armrests in first class are very thick.

Peter Beinart was more or less losing it.

"We'll get our aviation expert in here to discuss airplanes," Lemon joked,

“One down, eleven to go,” Beinart replied.

“Donald Trump had his own plane in the ’80s, he doesn’t fly commercial,” Pierson said. “He doesn’t do that.”

Hilary Rosen, a Clinton supporter also on the show, pressed Pierson on what exactly she thought Leeds had to gain by coming forward with her story. Pierson said the former businesswoman is looking for fame.

“Fame?” Rosen asked. “That woman looks like she’s looking for fame? I don’t think so.” Beinart reminded Pierson that Leeds told someone about the encounter immediately after the incident took place.

“Well she came out with it like so many other people in the past,” Pierson argued. “You attack Donald Trump and the media puts you on TV to tell your fake story just to get debunked a few days later. That’s exactly what’s happening here. This story did not happen. I just told you why. The fact that we’re talking about this instead of what WikiLeaks has brought out about Hillary Clinton is just absurd.”

“The segment before this was WikiLeaks, by the way, but go on,” Lemon replied dryly.

Beinart reminded Pierson that 12 women total have come forward with similar allegations. 

“I’s laughable at a certain point” Beinart said. “We’re in Bill Cosby territory now.”

Pierson continued to argue that the women were chasing the spotlight. “What I’m saying is if these women were truly concerned about the way that Donald Trump treated them, why wait 26 days out from the election?” Pierson said. “This is a political hit piece.” 

Rosen noted the Republican candidate invited these stories himself at Sunday’s debate, when categorically denied ever sexually assaulting women—despite the existence of a 2005 video that shows Trump bragging about doing just that.

Watch the video below, via CNN.