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CNN's Anderson Cooper snaps, then apologises, for Trump outburst

If ever there was proof of the pressure cooker atmosphere in Washington DC it's this: the brain snap of CNN's anchor, Anderson Cooper.

Cooper has been forced to apologised for a "crude" remark he made during a live interview with the Trump backer, Jeffrey Lord.

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If Trump 'took a dump on his desk'

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has apologised after remarking that Jeffrey Lord, a Trump supporter, would defend Trump after he 'Took a dump on his desk'.

"If [Mr Trump] took a dump on his desk, you would defend it," Cooper told Lord after the conservative political commentator defended Trump's description of the sacked FBI director James Comey as a "nut job" at a meeting with Russian officials.

President Trump fired Mr Comey while leading an investigation into alleged links between the presidential office and Russia.

Lord told Cooper it was the president's prerogative to describe people as he saw fit.

​"I don't care what he says to the Russians. I mean, he's the president of the United States," Lord said. "If he wants to say that, if Barack Obama wants to say whatever, if George Bush says I looked in his eyes ..."

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Frustrated, Cooper interjected with the crude turd analogy, suggesting Lord would defend the president no matter what.  "I mean, I don't know what he would do that you would not defend. I mean, you're a loyal guy, I think that speaks well of you."

Cooper later apologised for his comment. "I regret the crude sentence I spoke earlier tonight and followed it up by apologising on air. It was unprofessional. I am genuinely sorry," he wrote on Twitter.

By then the journalist's comment had quickly spread on social media where it was described as "the greatest moment in network news history".

As president-elect Trump branded CNN as "fake news" for its reporting of unsubstantiated allegations about his purported ties to Russia.

A week ago Cooper was caught on air rolling his eyes at senior Trump advisor, Kellyanne Conway, when she originally defended the president's firing of Mr Comey.

"All of a sudden, the White House is concerned about James Comey's handling of Hillary Clinton's emails?," Cooper said. "Why now are you concerned about the Hillary Clinton email investigation when as a candidate, Trump was praising it from the campaign trail?"

Ms Conway, who coined the now-infamous phrase "alternative facts", interjected: "I think you're looking at the wrong set of facts here".

Ms Conway said then the gesture was a sign of sexism. 

"I face sexism a lot of times when I show up for interviews like that," she said. "Could you imagine rolling your eyes, having a male anchor on a network roll eyes at Hillary Clinton ... a female representative/spokesperson for President Obama or President Bill Clinton?"