Franken: Convention ‘ugliest’ I’ve seen

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) says Donald Trump has inspired the messiest political convention he has witnessed.

“This is the ugliest convention I’ve ever seen, and it’s really an extension of the candidate, of the nominee,” he said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

{mosads}“I mean, here’s a guy whose whole campaign started with [him saying] Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers, and [Sen.] John McCain’s [R-Ariz.] not a war hero because he got captured, and ‘I saw on TV Muslims, thousands of Muslims in New Jersey, cheering when [the] World Trade Center went down,’ and on and on,” Franken added of Trump.

“There’s too much to chronicle. And so it’s probably not surprising that you see a convention in which there’s so much spewing of hate.”

Franken noted the controversy that erupted Thursday after Trump suggested that he might not come to the aid of NATO countries if they were attacked.

“He’s their nominee and he is saying that if another NATO country is invaded he’ll decide whether or not to fulfill our obligation to NATO?” said Franken, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

“The trust that you put in the president is that the president will do the job, will put in the work. This guy doesn’t know what he’s doing. You can’t trust him at all.”

Franken additionally mocked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for declining to endorse Trump on Wednesday night.

“I don’t like Ted, but I’m not alone,” he said of Trump’s former Republican presidential primary rival.

“Yes, there’s a lot of stuff that I can’t divulge,” Franken added of his Senate experiences.

“He’s not well-liked or well-respected in the institution. He’s smart. He’s a very smart guy. I’ll give him that.”

Attendees on late Wednesday jeered Cruz after he declined to endorse Trump during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The awkward moment raised questions about how unified the GOP is ahead of the November elections.