When a leaked audio tape from 2005 was released last Friday, it changed the direction of the current presidential race. While Donald Trump offered a brief apology for the remarks that were recorded, he has since been defiant in his attacks against Hillary Clinton and the actions of her husband.

Trump defense

In an attempt to deflect attention from his sexual thoughts about married women that were exposed in the leaked audio, Trump gathered together with a group of women who had previously accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault. The women, which included Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick, were all in attendance during last Sunday night's debate.

With Clinton standing just a few feet away, Trump accused the former Secretary of State of smearing the names of the alleged victims, saying that she "should be ashamed of herself." In the days that have followed, the backlash has been harsh against Trump, with many Republicans retracting their support of his candidacy in the process. These issues were front and center on a fiery CNN panel segment on October 11.

(Pierson's comments start at 4:00 in the above video)

Joining host Carol Costello and panel guest Angela Rye was the national spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Katrina Pierson. As expected, the top issue on everyone's minds was Trump's recent comments and the aftermath from the debate.

When the panel discussion transitioned from talk about current polling to the remarks in question, Pierson got into a near shouting match with Rye. Pierson attempted to blame "Hollywood" and "rap music" for Trump's comments, putting the blame on the shoulders of the Democratic Party.

"I find it rich that we have Democrats and the left talking about rape culture, when they are the ones backed fully by Hollywood," Pierson said.

"This rape culture is purported by, none other than the entertainment industry. None other than hip-hop music which you could hear on local radio stations." When Pierson tried to bring up the culture of non-stop sex tapes in the media, Rye quickly fired back that Trump admitted to watching one himself. "You're candidate talked about watching Paris Hilton’s sex tape!"

Election update

With just 28 days until voters head to the polls, the former host of "The Apprentice" has watched his poll numbers nose dive in the last two weeks.

Real Clear Politics most recent rolling average shows Trump down six points to Clinton, with those numbers expected to fall even further. At his campaign rally on Monday night, Trump suggested he was aware of the slide, telling his supporters that the poll numbers and media was rigged against him.
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