Bill Maher might be a liberal, but he’s never been afraid to push back against the Democratic Party, when he believes they’ve made a mistake. Recently on his HBO show, Real Time, Maher went against Democrats and the American public in general in saying that largely unconfirmed and vehemently denied accusations against Senator Al Franken should not have led to his removal from politics.
Last November, Leeann Tweeden made allegations against the former-senator that he forceably kissed her during a USO rehearsal. A photo surfaced of Franken making grabbing motions to her breasts as she slept. Franken apologized for the photo, which he said was meant to be funny, but wasn’t, though stated he didn’t recall the forceable kiss.
Following Tweeden’s accusation, a number of other women came forward and made various claims about Franken. Franken vehemently denied such claims, but still resigned from the senate following pressure from Democratic colleagues.
According to Salon , Bill Maher brought the discussion back up, following relative quietness on the subject of Franken, since his resignation.
It’s time to get @AlFranken off the bench so he can come back to doing what he does better than any other Democrat: taking down right wing blowhards. #BringBackFranken pic.twitter.com/fphaB3sG9K
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 8, 2018
Bill Maher emotionally stated that Al Franken’s accusations were unsubstantiated and further expounded upon his position on Franken, by adding that women didn’t “completely lose their ability to lie in 2017.”
Maher not only wants al Franken to return to politics, he wants the former senator to run for president against Donald Trump in 2020, citing Franken’s previous career as a comedian and cast member on Saturday Night Live .
“We need someone who can shred Trump like a stand-up [comic] that takes down a heckler. Trump is a heckler, and to fight him, we need a comedian.
“We can have MeToo and Al Franken – they are not mutually exclusive. It is time to get Al Franken off the bench to do what he does better than any other Democrat – taking down right-wing blowhards. I want to see Al Franken debate Donald Trump. And, by the way, so do you.”
As of the time of this writing Al Franken has not issued a response to the invocation.
Bill Maher has caught flack from his liberal counterparts in the past, once for using the “N-word” on his show. Ice Cube went on Real Time soon after and blasted the host on his own show. Maher apologized and Ice Cube accepted, calling it a “teachable moment.”
Bill Maher regularly criticizes Islam and essentially any other religion, much to the ire of many Democrats. However, he ultimately did vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, despite Bernie Sanders failing to achieve the nomination. Maher was a vocal supporter and donor to Bernie Sanders.