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Trump Mocks Franken Over Photo of Him Groping Sleeping Woman

Donald Trump
Getty Images
November 17, 2017

President Donald Trump mocked Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) over the sudden sexual misconduct scandal he became embroiled in Thursday, speculating there were other photos of Franken groping a woman while she slept.

Leeann Tweeden, a former model who now works as a radio news anchor in Los Angeles, accused Franken Thursday of aggressively kissing her without consent while they rehearsed for a USO skit in the Middle East in 2006. She also posted a photo of a smiling Franken apparently grabbing her breasts while she slept on a flight home from that tour.

Franken apologized and supported an ethics committee investigation into his actions.

Trump, who is fond of coining nicknames for political opponents, referred to him as "Al Frankenstien," a misspelling of "Frankenstein."

"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?" he wrote.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931357870024687616

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931360196554821632

Trump's remark about the "Lesley Stahl tape" referred to a 1995 New York Magazine article where Franken discussed doing a Saturday Night Live skit involving drugging and raping the CBS reporter.

Trump himself has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by several women, and he also has taken criticism for not personally weighing in on the sexual misconduct allegations against Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

The White House said Thursday that Trump felt the allegations against Moore—which include that he initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old when he was 32—were troubling but declined to say Moore should leave the race.