Al Franken Is Mounting a Comeback From #MeToo Exile [View all]
Al Franken Is Mounting a Comeback From #MeToo Exile
WHY NOT ME?
Nearly three years after sexual misconduct allegations got him pushed out of the Senate, Al Franken has quietly made his return to cable and radio airwaves.
Maxwell Tani, Media reporter
Published Nov. 17, 2020 4:48AM ET
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos Getty
If you’ve recently tuned in to CNN or MSNBC you may have noticed a familiar face has returned to political punditry: Al Franken.
Over the past several months, the former Minnesota senator—whose legislative career ended in 2018 over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct—has been quietly growing his media presence, becoming a more common sight on cable news, in op-ed pages, and on the radio.
Earlier this month, for example, the former Minnesota senator appeared three times in a single week on MSNBC, weighing in on the Senate confirmation hearings for now Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. At other times he’s joined host Joy Reid to react to news or, since Election Day, has appeared regularly on Brian Williams’ show to discuss Donald Trump’s current futile attempts to overturn Joe Biden’s electoral wins in several states via recounts, noting his own experience with a much narrower recount in 2008.
In September, he spoke with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about political satire and Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and wrote an op-ed for the network’s website over the summer about how Biden could win the election. He wrote about Biden’s incoming administration for the Los Angeles Times, and launched a podcast/radio show on SiriusXM dedicated to covering the election, booking interviews with high-profile guests and personal friends like musician John Mayer, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, upstart 2020 Democratic candidate Andrew Yang, and comedians like Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Chris Rock.
In a brief telephone interview several days after the election, Franken said his goal in returning to the public eye—despite his unceremonious exit from politics—is to raise awareness about the issues he felt passionately about as a legislator, including health care, climate change, right-wing media, and an increasingly conservative tilt in the judiciary system. He seemed more focused on the future than reflecting upon his past.
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