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In the run-up to the 2020 campaign, Bill Maher on Friday night called former Senator Al Franken to run in the political arena and run in the Democratic presidential elections.
Facing an eclectic and exceptional panel of guests, including former Obama adviser and current CNN host, David Axelrod, New York Times columnist (and ex-Salon) Michelle Goldberg, formerly rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. Maher's traditional closing soliloquy on "Real Time" called on Democrats to find the only thing that is Trump's Kryptonite.
Maher then offered his theory of what lies beneath Trump's skin: "make fun of". The animator at the time President Barack Obama roasted Trump for more than five minutes in front of a gala crowd while the future president "jumped", in Maher's words. There has been a lot of speculation as to whether this public humiliation caused Trump to run for president in 2016, after many false alarms.
"We need someone who can shred Trump as a stand-up [comic] who slays a rowdy. Trump is a rowdy, and to fight him, we need a comedian, "said Maher. After teasing the audience by seeming to suggest that he could be this comedian, Maher changed his outlook, stating that it would be great if the former comedian turned senator, Al Franken, "back in the game" to approval of his audience.
It's time to @AlFranken off the bench so that he can come back to do what he does better than any other democrat: eliminate the right blowhards. #BringBackFranken pic.twitter.com/fphaB3sG9K
– Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 8, 2018
Maher directly addressed allegations of sexual harassment that led Franken to resign from the Senate in the fall of 2017. He argued that Americans are overreacting to the controversy, citing a curious array of events ranging from September 9th to the Bird flu Half-time show at the Super Bowl, while suggesting that the charges against Franken were among the worst examples of this trend.
Maher reminded his audience of the two events that have most damaged Franken: a photograph taken during a USO tour where he grabbed her breasts while she was sleeping (which Franken apologized for Sean Hannity, guest of Leeann Tweeden, said that Franken had forcibly kissed her and groped her, which Franken denied. Although the senator quickly resigned, Maher pointed out that he never said "I did it".
Maher said he believed in Franken's denial, adding that while most of the women's claims during the #MeToo move were true, the women had not "completely lost their ability to lie in 2017".
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At that time, during Maher's monologue, there was a brief and tense exchange with Michelle Goldberg. She intercepted from the outside of the camera to say that the allegations against Franken also included "a lot of buttock attacks". Maher retorted to Goldberg – perhaps in inappropriate language – that "this is not quite your place". had his time on the show and it was his. He went on to acknowledge the allegations made against Franken by seven other women, including one in which Franken allegedly asked a woman to join him in the bathroom. Speaking of his longtime friend, Maher finally said, "This is not Al Franken."
Maher, visibly moved, concluded, "We can have #MeToo and Al Franken – they do not exclude each other. It's time to put Al Franken out of the way of doing what he does better than any other Democrat, eliminating right wing defenders. I want to see Al Franken's debate on Donald Trump. And by the way, you too.
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