“The View” co-host Joy Behar on Wednesday expressed regret that former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) resigned last year amid sexual harassment allegations, asking guest Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) if she was afraid voters will turn against her in the 2020 presidential election over the matter.
“It’s a personal thing for me because I’m a friend of his and I thought he was a great senator,” said Behar during an interview with Gillibrand. “I really miss him now, because I think that he had a mouth on him and a brain.”
Franken, a former comedian like Behar, resigned from the Senate in December 2017 after eight women accused him of sexual harassment. He had been in the Senate since 2009 and was considered a viable 2020 presidential candidate before the allegations surfaced.{mosads}
“You have certainly a brain,” Behar continued, speaking to Gillibrand. “A lot of them have a brain. But this guy had a way of talking that I think he would have challenged Trump and the Republicans in a different way.”
“I actually miss him and I’m sorry that he’s gone,” Behar added, before asking, “Do you think the Democratic voters are going to turn on you for this?”
“No, I don’t,” replied Gillibrand, who was the first senator to call for Franken to step down. “I think there are a few influential and powerful Democratic donors and elites who are angry about it. But if they’re going to be angry about me standing up for women who were groped, that’s on them.”
Gillibrand currently has 0.8 percent of the vote in the Real Clear Politics (RCP) index of polls.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads in the RCP average with 29.3 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 23 percent.