Trump spokeswoman says airplane armrests debunk sexual assault accusation

A Trump spokesperson denied allegations of assault on an airplane.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Donald Trump's surrogates have attempted to deny a torrent of accusations of sexual harassment and assault plaguing the Republican nominee, to varying degrees of success. One of the less impressive attempts came from Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson, who denied a story by The New York Times accusing Trump of groping a woman on an airplane because "we're talking about the early 1980s."

"Back then, you had planes, what, a DC-9, a DC-10, and MD-80, 707, and maybe an L-1011?" Pierson told Don Lemon. "First-class seats have fixed armrests … There are fixed seats on first class, so if it happened, it wasn't by Donald Trump."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.