President Donald Trump took a pair of shots at Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) on Twitter Thursday night over allegations that Franken groped a Los Angeles radio host in 2006, slamming a picture of the act as “really bad” — despite the many allegations of harassment and assault against Trump himself.
Trump goes after “Al Frankenstien” on Twitter — despite his own history of assault allegations
President Donald Trump took a pair of shots at Sen. Al Franken on Twitter Thursday night.
Emily Stewart covered business and economics for Vox and wrote the newsletter The Big Squeeze, examining the ways ordinary people are being squeezed under capitalism. Before joining Vox, she worked for TheStreet.
“The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..” Trump tweeted.
He chastised the Minnesota Democrat, who “just last week … was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women.”
The “Lesley Stahl tape” Trump mentions is a reference to a 1995 New York magazine story about Saturday Night Live depicting Franken telling a joke about raping 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl.
“And, ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her,’” Franken is quoted as saying. “Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’”
In a back-and-forth with fellow SNL comedians Jim Downey and Norm MacDonald, Franken and his castmates also jokes about Mickey Rooney raping Mike Wallace. “What about, ‘I drag Mike into my office and rape him. Right here! I guess that makes me bad,’” Franken says.
Trump’s tweets about Franken raised eyebrows given the president’s own history with allegations of sexual abuse. After the Washington Post reported in October 2016 on a 2005 tape of the former reality television star bragging backstage at Access Hollywood about sexually assaulting women, more than a dozen women came forward with allegations of their own.
“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump said in the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape. “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Trump has denied the allegations against him, and in October, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders reiterated his stance that all the women making accusations are liars.
The president has yet to make a definitive statement on Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who faces allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior toward several Alabama women.
Twitter was quick to pick up the irony.
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