PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter defended Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, on the day he was charged with misdemeanor battery against a reporter at a campaign rally earlier this month.

Coulter, during an interview with Rich Zeoli on TalkRadio 1210 WPHT, said the reporter in question, Michelle Fields, is lying about what happened on March 8.

“I think that’s going to help Trump…You’ve got to watch the video…You have a reporter who, for some reason, decided not to ask questions during the question and answer with the press, waits in back, rushes at Trump, the frontrunner and most likely the most endangered presidential candidate right now, when he’s surrounded by Secret Service. Touches him, lunges at him. Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager, doing his job, is trying to catch up with Trump and apparently their shoulders brush. And this, the reporter claimed was Corey grabbing her by the arm, bruising her arm, trying to forcefully throw a reporter to the ground. Well, you can see all of that is utter nonsense.”

She rejected calls that the Trump campaign apologize and blamed the media for overhyping the story.

“Other than no gang rape was involved, this is the equivalent of the Duke Lacrosse case. I can’t believe my fellow conservatives, in some cases anyway, are saying, well, this video proves it. We need safe spaces for girl reporter’s shoulders now? This is not a good game right wingers…This is like complaining about the riots at Trump rallies. [Trump’s campaign staff] are not the ones who did this.”

She claims she spoke with Lewandowski that night and he doesn’t understand why this has blown up into a controversy either.

“I actually talked to Corey the night this happened. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal, though I thought he had actually knocked her down, since that’s what she was claiming all over Twitter. I said, so have you kissed and made up with Michelle Fields? He said no, I didn’t toucher her. I don’t know what she’s talking about. He doesn’t touch her. He didn’t know who she was. He’s just trying to do his job…It’s madness.”