The Shady Side Of Katrina Pierson Is Out For Everyone To See

Donald Trump sure knows how to pick 'em. In 2015, the man who pledged to make America great again personally selected Katrina Pierson — a biology graduate who previously worked in corporate affairs, healthcare administration, and private consulting — to be the national spokesperson for his first presidential campaign. And much to the media's delight, she supplied them with almost as much controversy as her boss.

Indeed, since aligning herself with the MAGA movement, Pierson has managed to offend pretty much every minority group out there, spread all kinds of misinformation and conspiracy theories, and waged war on former presidents, first ladies, and even senators no longer alive to defend themselves. Having defeated Justin Holland in the 2024 Republican primary runoff for the 33rd district of the Texas House of Representatives, she will no doubt continue to keep wreaking havoc for many more years to come. Here's a look at her shadiest moments.

After announcing her plans to take on Pete Sessions in the Texas congressional elections of 2014, Katrina Pierson's backstory was inevitably raked over with a fine-tooth comb. It soon emerged that she had a run-in with the law as a 20-year-old. Furthermore, it involved one of America's favorite department stores.

In 1997, Pierson was briefly held in Plano City Jail after being caught stealing four clothing items from a nearby J.C. Penney with her young son in tow. Speaking about the incident several years later, she claimed to have been goaded into shoplifting by a friend. "Like an idiot, I went along for the ride," she said (via The Dallas Morning News).

On being busted with her illicit stash — reported to be between $50 and $500 — Pierson told cops that she resorted to such desperate measures because of desperate times. Pleading poverty, the future Donald Trump cohort argued that she couldn't afford to pay for the suitable attire needed to acquire a job. She was subsequently given a deferred adjudication after pleading no contest. "That's what the attorney guy told me to do," Pierson said. "My defense was as good as I could afford."

In 2012, Katrina Pierson appeared to join the likes of Woody Harrelson, Rosie O'Donnell, and Charlie Sheen on the list of public figures who believe that we haven't been told the true story about the World Trade Center terrorist attack.

In a tweet that resurfaced as she rose to fame, the proud Republican wondered aloud whether 9/11 was an "inside job." However, Pierson later insisted that she wasn't referring to the events of 2001, but the 2012 attack on Benghazi's U.S. Consulate, which occurred a couple of days prior to her September 13 social media post.

Speaking to The Texas Tribune, Pierson complained that she's often held up to more scrutiny than her peers, pointing to the fact that Joe Biden once described "jobs" as a word with just three letters and that Barack Obama once referenced "57 states." In fact, she said that during the 600 times she's been interviewed during her work for Donald Trump, she has only misspoke a fraction of a percentage.

In 2012, the same year she publicly supported Ted Cruz's bid for the Texas senate, Katrina Pierson took to social media to express her dissatisfaction with the political status quo. And as you'd expect, her comments weren't exactly politically correct.

"Perfect Obama's dad born in Africa, Mitt Romney's dad born in Mexico. Any pure breeds left?" she wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via The Hill) while watching a debate on CNN. Of course, as her own profile increased, this inflammatory comment gained much more traction and much more pushback. In fact, even the ever-controversial J.K. Rowling, a woman who's spent much of the last decade displaying prejudice on such platforms, believed Pierson had gone too far, comparing her to the Harry Potter supremacists known as Death Eaters.

Pierson remained unrepentant, however, telling CNN (via The Hill) that she was only reclaiming the term that had often been thrown at her. "I'm an activist and I am a half-breed. I'm always getting called a half-breed," she said. "And on Twitter when you're fighting with liberals and even establishment, you go back at them in the same silliness they are giving you."

Katrina Pierson certainly didn't waste any time causing controversy after being appointed Donald Trump's presidential campaign spokesperson in November 2015. Within days of her hiring, the biology graduate offended the entire Muslim community with her remarks on their religion.

Shortly after the Islamic State had claimed it was responsible for a Parisian attack that took no fewer than 130 lives, Pierson posted an inflammatory Facebook message. "Islam preys on the weak and uses political correctness as cover," she wrote (via Politico). "Two things that Americans won't be concerned with when [Trump] is in the White House."

A month later, Pierson once again showed her contempt for the same community while discussing Trump's plans to stop any Muslims from entering America. "Never in United States history have we allowed insurgents to come across these borders," she remarked on CNN (via MS NOW). When the host noted the ban would punish law-abiding citizens, Pierson remained entirely unsympathetic. "So what?" she answered. "They're Muslim."

Katrina Pierson certainly made an impression during a post-Christmas guest appearance on CNN in 2015. And it wasn't for what she said to host Jim Sciutto. No, the Kansas native left many viewers open-mouthed by sporting a necklace consisting of bullets!

Following the interview, Sciutto tweeted Pierson to inquire whether there was a specific message behind the provocative piece of jewelry. In response, the University of Texas at Dallas graduate wrote, "Made in #Texas! Real ammo. #2A Support your local small business owners!"

Pierson was a little more combative the following day as talk continued to center around her unusual attire, accusing those on the opposite end of the political spectrum of sexism. "They only approve of women in pant suits and jackets," she tweeted. "Oh, and tampon earrings." This was, of course, a reference to Melissa Harris-Perry, the MSNBC host who two years earlier had worn the absorbent material after Texas legislature protestors had theirs confiscated.

If you thought Katrina Pierson's golden bullet necklace was grossly insensitive, then wait until you hear what the Donald Trump spokesperson had in mind as a follow-up. Indeed, following her memorable jewelry display on CNN, the biology graduate was called out on X by Shannon Watts, the founder of gun control advocacy group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

In something of a rhetorical question, Watts wondered aloud whether Pierson had sported the piece in an attempt to highlight how, at the time, 90 American citizens lost their life to gun crime each day. Taking the bait, the political provocateur responded, "Maybe I'll wear a fetus next time and bring awareness to 50 million aborted people that will never get to be on Twitter."

This isn't the only time that Pierson has given her thoughts on abortion. In 2025, she proudly boasted about her attendance at the annual Celebrating Life Luncheon, captioning an Instagram carousel, "Thousands gathered in unity to champion the dignity and value of every human life ... Moments like this remind us that the culture of life is not just a belief, it's a movement, and it's growing."

Katrina Pierson made one of her most controversial comments in 2017 when she took part in a Fox News debate about the problematic nature of Confederate iconography across America. It's fair to say that she opted for an unusual defense when she emphatically argued that slavery should be regarded as "good history."

Pierson was speaking in the wake of Nancy Pelosi's attempts to remove the offending statues after a white supremacist attack resulted in the death of a Charlottesville protestor. The political provocateur first put the cat among the pigeons by claiming (via The Standard) that this campaign would result in the destruction of "America, American culture, and American history."

When opposing guest Wendy Osefo — before she became a "Real Housewife of Potomac" — stated that Confederate monuments had no place being situated on state grounds, Pierson responded, "It absolutely deserves a place, because bad history is still good history for this country." Asked to clarify whether she truly meant what she had just said, Pierson then added, "Considering where we are today! Where we are today! Absolutely!"

Katrina Pierson might claim to know what good American history is, but she doesn't appear to be clued up about recent American history. The former Tea Party member has dropped a whole host of clangers over the years, with the vast majority centering on one particular president of the United States.

Indeed, in 2016, Pierson claimed that responsibility for the death of Captain Humayun Khan in Iraq 12 years earlier lay squarely at the feet of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The only problem with this line of attack is that the 44th only took office in 2009. And the first lady had been succeeded by Laura Bush, whose husband George W. Bush was the actual POTUS at the time.

A month later, Pierson was at it again, this time accusing Obama of invading Afghanistan in an interview with CNN, completely ignoring the fact that the aforementioned war began in 2001 when he was only a senator. And who really was in the White House? Yes, again it was George W. Bush. This faux pas prompted social media users to use a mocking hashtag of #KatrinaPiersonHistory.

Not content with wrongly accusing Hillary Clinton of the death of Captain Humayun Khan, Katrina Pierson once again stuck the knife into the former first lady several months later by arguing that Clinton essentially let down the entire female population.

Speaking to Fox News (via Time) in 2016, Pierson claimed that it was fair game for Donald Trump — for whom she was serving as a national campaign spokesperson — to discuss Bill Clinton's extramarital indiscretions in presidential election debates, even more so for the fact that Hillary had previously got personal. "She launched this campaign on sexism, she accused Bernie Sanders of sexism, and now they're expecting Donald Trump to be accused of being a sexist and not defend himself," she said.

Referring to the 42nd's infidelity with Monica Lewinsky — which contributed to the tragic nature of Lewinsky's life — Pierson added, "She knew that her husband was cheating on her and she blamed it on the 'vast ring-wing conspiracy.' She knew that this was happening and shifted the blame onto the women." Just to make her feelings on the matter crystal clear, the former private consultant then added, "She is calling herself the champion of women, and she has failed miserably."

In the same year that she accused Hillary Clinton of failing women, Katrina Pierson argued that four of the individuals who made accusations of sexual misconduct toward her boss Donald Trump were simply wanting their "15 minutes of fame."

Pierson made the assumption during a heated discussion with the oft-shady Don Lemon on "CNN Tonight." She wasn't done victim shaming there, either. She singled out Jessica Leeds' allegation that she was manhandled by Trump while the pair traveled on a first-class New York-bound flight, particularly for her claim that the presidential candidate had moved up the armrest that separated them.

"The first-class seats have fixed armrests so what I can tell you about her story, if she was groped on a plane, it wasn't by Donald Trump and it certainly wasn't in first class," Pierson remarked (via Politico). Next in the firing line was Jill Harth, who nearly two decades earlier sued Trump for sexual harassment to the tune of $125 million. "We know that one of those women in the last article was trying to get her book sold," the spokesperson added. "She wanted to raise her profile.

Katrina Pierson made herself an enemy of Marco Rubio in 2016 when she questioned whether he was eligible to run for president. Only a few weeks earlier, her boss, Donald Trump, had agreed to accept that his rival was a natural born American citizen. But, perhaps concerned about a sudden boost in the polls, Trump's campaign then decided to go in on the attack.

"The question here is, is he a naturalized citizen?" she asked on CNN show "The Lead with Jake Tapper" (via Salon). "We know that his parents were not citizens at the time, and that makes a huge difference with regards to eligibility." The host, however, was having none of it, responding, "It actually doesn't. If you're born in the U.S., you're a natural-born citizen — that's pretty much just the law."

That didn't deter Pierson from following the party line, however, shouting off camera that this was simply the "anchor baby law" before fellow guest S.E. Cupp interjected, arguing that such rhetoric was simply pandering to voters who believe their problems stem from those who they consider to be outsiders. "That's absolutely ridiculous," Pierson fired back. "Trying to make this about race is absurd." Cupp, though, had the final word, remarking "You should tell your boss that."

Donald Trump certainly didn't mince his words in response to Omarosa Manigault Newman — the reality TV star-turned-White House aide — and her claims that he was a racist who used the N-word. "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out," he tweeted. "Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"

Unsurprisingly, his spokesperson Katrina Pierson leapt to the 45th's defense. In an interview with Fox News (via Salon), Pierson — who also referred to Newman as "a dog with a bone" — was asked whether it was ever acceptable for a man to describe a woman in such terms. She replied that it depended on the circumstances: "Omarosa has bit the hand that fed her. To me that's what a dog is."

When pressed further on the matter by host Ed Henry, Pierson responded, "Look, as a woman, as a strong black woman, I think everyone should be able to defend themselves the best way they see fit."

Katrina Pierson sure didn't do herself any favors in 2018 when she criticized John McCain — who's life story was so wild that not many people know about it — for his silence on the Donald Trump-Russia report known as the Steele dossier. The problem: She made the comment several months after the Senator had died at the age of 81.

"Since everyone is just now realizing his staffers role in the #RussiaHoax," Pierson tweeted (via The Wrap) in response to news that a McCain associate had allegedly shared the document with BuzzFeed. "We have been asking questions!" For some reason, she then quoted the headline of a blog post she uploaded a year earlier which read, "John McCain Still Refuses to Answer Questions About His Role in the Dossier."

Unsurprisingly, the Trump ally was mocked mercilessly on social media for the faux pas, including by the late politician's daughter. "You're exponentially more stupid than I've ever given you credit for — and I've always considered you one of the dumbest people ever to work for Trump, which is quite the fete [sic]," Meghan McCain wrote before advising Pierson to delete her account.

Should Katrina Pierson – who famously made the internet erupt after exposing that Ice Cube had worked with her boss – hold any responsibility for the U.S. Capitol insurrection of 2021? Well, political consultant and one-time Donald Trump ally Roger Stone certainly believes she should.

"Given what I know, I am perplexed as to why the January 6 committee has not issued a subpoena to Katrina Pierson, in other words, someone deeply involved in the violent and unlawful acts of January 6," Stone wrote in a Telegram post (via Newsweek) without going into specific details, seemingly unaware that the spokesperson, like himself, had already been subpoenaed.

Omarosa Manigault Newman, another former Trump cohort, has also publicly expressed her suspicions about Pierson's conduct prior to the shocking events. "Not only was Katrina one of the organizers, but she was behind the money, you know, and every scandal, it's 'always follow the money,'" she told MSNBC before applauding the January 6 committee for looking into her involvement. "She's going to have a lot of information, and she had a lot of insight on what they knew and when."