Former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken may have controversially resigned at the beginning of 2018, but Bill Maher thinks it’s time to “get Al off the bench” to take on Donald Trump in 2020.
The “Real Time” host said Trump’s “kryptonite” is ridicule, and a man like Franken knows how to dish it out.
“The one thing that gets under [Trump’s] skin, besides red dye number two, is being made fun of,†Maher said on Friday night.
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Did Democratic Party leadership overreact on the Franken allegations?
Bill Maher reminded viewers that Franken’s resignation wasn’t an admission by the former senator that the allegations against him were true.
“[Franken] said he hoped resigning didn’t give people the false impression that I was admitting to doing things that, in fact, I haven’t done,” Maher said, outlining the flimsiness of some of the accusations. “I believe Al. I think that’s still my right as an American to say.”
Democratic leadership, on the other hand, was quick to call for his resignation when allegations surfaced – allegations that pale in comparison to those that Trump faces. This despite the fact that, at the time, a majority of voters in Minnesota didn’t want Franken to step down.
There has so far been no indication by Franken that he plans to jump into the presidential race in 2020, but when he announced his plans to resign, he said, “Here is my promise to you: I may be leaving the Senate, but I’m not giving up my voice.”
Maher believes now is the time for Franken to bring back his voice, even with the baggage he might carry with him.
“We could have Me Too and Al Franken. They’re not mutually exclusive,†the HBO host said. “It’s time to get Al off the bench so he can come back and do what he does better than any other Democrat: taking down rightwing blowhards.”
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
