President Trump mocked former Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) at a campaign rally in Minnesota Thursday for resigning following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
“That guy was wacky. Boy did he fold up like a wet rag, huh?” Trump said at a rally in Rochester in Franken’s home state.
“He was gone so fast, I don’t want to mention Al Franken’s name, he was gone so fast,” he added.
{mosads}Franken, who was previously considered a potential 2020 presidential candidate, was accused by eight women of sexual misconduct.
Franken announced his resignation in December after facing intense pressure from others within the Democratic caucus.
Franken railed on the Senate floor that some accusations of sexual misconduct against him were not true, while others he remembered differently. He maintained he had done nothing to bring “dishonor” to the Senate since joining the body in 2009 and expressed confidence that an ethics panel would have cleared him.
He also issued a searing indictment of a political system that would force him to relinquish his seat while Trump remained in office.
“I of all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving, while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office,” he said.
Franken ultimately left the Senate in January and was replaced by then-Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith.
Smith’s Republican opponent Karin Housley was also invited onstage by Trump during the rally.
Trump’s comments come as Republicans rush to defend Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh against allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him by three women.
The FBI gave the Senate Thursday a private report on their now-finished investigation into the accusations. Many Senate Republicans have said the report shows no corroborating evidence to the allegations.
Trump faces his own allegations of sexual misconduct brought forth by over a dozen women. He has repeatedly denied any inappropriate conduct.