"The Daily Show" guest host Al Franken took his former Senate colleague Lindsey Graham to task on Monday over his support for former President Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
The exchange began with the pending indictment that Trump predicted will occur over the hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 over an alleged affair she claimed to have had with him, which he has long denied.
Graham reiterated his stance about how any charges against Trump will benefit him with his supporters because they see it a "never-ending effort to take a wrecking ball" to him politically.
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Franken quickly pivoted to Trump's involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
"The number one tradition that is meaningful in this country is the peaceful transition of power, right?" Franken said, which Graham agreed. "How then can you want a guy who allowed us to go through this violent insurrection?"
"Well, let me just say this, the other side of the story is that when President Trump was president, on the things that I care the most about – national security, I thought he did a damn good job," Graham responded. "I look at the policies of Trump and I like the policies of Trump. And at the end of the day, he’s got to prove to people – not me – that he’s able to lead us again and that will be a challenge for him and that will be a challenge for Biden to say give me four more years after the last four. We’ll see what happens."
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"Well, I think Biden wins that," Franken quickly said.
Graham then wagered a $20 bet that Trump would beat President Biden in a 2024 rematch, which Franken accepted as the two shook on it.
"But get back to the point, you’ve got to come to grips with the idea a lot of Americans believe that Trump was a good president but they don’t like what he did or what he said. And this is going to be a real contest in 2024. It will be a real contest, my friend," Graham said.
After citing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as someone who will make the GOP primary a "real contest," Franken tore into Graham's preferred candidate.
"I just think he is a pathological liar," Franken said. "And I don’t mean to be harsh because I know he is your friend – and malignant narcissist. And he chose some good people to be in his administration at first, but it seemed like as those guys went, those men and women went, he brought in worse and worse people. And I just – I don’t know how the American people are gonna reelect this guy. I understand the MAGA voters – are still loyal."
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"It’s not just MAGA voters," Graham pushed back. "Don’t take this wrongly. He can survive your criticism. He’s going to be – ‘Al Franken is down on Trump’ is not the end of Trump. Listen, I know you think Trump is horrible for the country and a lot of people believe that he can fix the problems we are suffering under now. But here’s the good news. We will have an election and they will decide."
"That's the way it's supposed to work!" Franken exclaimed before wrapping up the interview.
Franken, who is filling in for the week as guest host of "The Daily Show," was formerly a Democratic senator for Minnesota until he resigned in 2018 after he faced mounting pressure following allegations of inappropriate touching in the height of the #MeToo movement.
