The following article by Michael D. Shear was posted on the New York Times website November 16, 2017:
WASHINGTON — President Trump lashed out at Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, in two suggestive Twitter posts late Thursday night after the senator was accused by a Los Angeles radio newscasterof kissing and groping her more than a decade ago.
Leeann Tweeden, the newscaster, made the allegations earlier Thursday about Mr. Franken’s behavior while both of them were performing on a 2006 U.S.O. tour. She released a picture showing Mr. Franken, a former writer for “Saturday Night Live,” appearing to grab her breasts while she was sleeping.
The photograph prompted Mr. Trump to tweet that “the Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words.” The president then suggested that Mr. Franken might have gone on to take more liberties with the sleeping woman.
“Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?” Mr. Trump wrote.
The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..
.And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?
The president’s decision to tweet about Mr. Franken’s case immediately drew comparisons to his own behavior as revealed by an “Access Hollywood” tape. Released by The Washington Post in early October 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, it revealed Mr. Trump talking in vulgar terms about women.
Mr. Trump later apologized for his language on the tape, saying that “these words don’t reflect who I am.” But since then, he has described his comments as “locker-room talk.”
Before the election, several women told The New York Times that Mr. Trump assaulted them, touching them inappropriately. Several others told the newspaper that Mr. Trump behaved improperly around them.
In his tweets on Thursday night, the president went on to accuse Mr. Franken of hypocrisy, saying that “just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women,” adding, “Lesley Stahl tape?”
The mention of Ms. Stahl, a veteran journalist for CBS News, was an apparent reference to a 1995 interview in which Mr. Franken, then with “Saturday Night Live,” spoke about a possible skit in which Ms. Stahl would be drugged and raped.
“‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or, ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her,’” Mr. Franken said in the article in New York magazine.
Mr. Trump’s comments about Mr. Franken, a frequent critic of the president’s, came even as Mr. Trump remained largely silent about accusations of sexual assault against Roy S. Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in an Alabama special election scheduled to take place next month.
In recent days, several women have accused Mr. Moore of having assaulted them or pursued them romantically when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Mr. Trump issued a statement several days ago saying that if the charges against Mr. Moore are true, he should withdraw from the Senate campaign.
But Mr. Trump has not spoken publicly to condemn Mr. Moore’s actions, nor pulled his endorsement of the Republican candidate, even as other Republicans in Washington have said they believe the female accusers and have called on Mr. Moore to drop out of the race.
“The president believes that these allegations are very troubling and should be taken seriously, and he thinks that the people of Alabama should make the decision on who their next senator should be,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said earlier Thursday.
It is unclear what prompted Mr. Trump to tweet about Mr. Franken. But he frequently watches Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News, and on Thursday night, Mr. Hannity was highly critical of Mr. Franken and mentioned the senator’s joke about Ms. Stahl.
Backlash on Twitter was swift. Gretchen Carlson, a former anchor at Fox News, retweeted Mr. Trump’s message questioning where Mr. Franken’s hands were and said, “What about yours?”
Backlash on Twitter was swift. Gretchen Carlson, a former anchor at Fox News, retweeted Mr. Trump’s message questioning where Mr. Franken’s hands were and said, “What about yours?”
Trump has more than a dozen, on-the-record, allegations of sexual assault against him, and was caught on tape bragging about committing sexual assault. This is a dangerous game for him to play. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/931357870024687616 …
Trump on Franken: Pot discusses sins of the kettle.
Others pointed out that Mr. Trump was quick to criticize Mr. Franken, but held back on addressing the accusations against Mr. Moore.
Trump comments on the Al Franken allegations the same day they are published. It’s been over a week since the Roy Moore news broke, but nothing on that front. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/931357870024687616 …
Amanda Carpenter, a CNN commentator, said sexual harassment accusations against both Democratic and Republican politicians are a reminder that the response to such misconduct should transcend politics.
“For every Clinton, there will be a Trump. For every Roy Moore, there will be an Al Franken. Once you’ve covered up for one, you’ve lost the moral credibility to hold the other to account,” says CNN commentator @amandacarpenter http://cnn.it/2hwRyr6
The late-night tweets came on a day that Republicans in the House of Representatives passed one of the president’s major priorities — an overhaul that drastically cuts corporate tax rates.
Mr. Trump called the House vote a “big win” before turning his attention — and those of his millions of Twitter followers — to Mr. Franken.
Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.
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