Former Minnesota Democratic senator Al Franken joined "CBS Mornings" on Monday to discuss his stint as the host of "The Daily Show" this week and said his "friend," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would join him as one of his guests.
"People would ask me when I did my tour, like, 'who's the funniest senator?' And I'd say 'Lindsey' and my crowd would get really mad," he said. Co-host Gayle King questioned him and said, "is he funny?"
"He's really funny," Franken said during "CBS Mornings" on Monday. "When he was running for president, what year was that, in 16, he was doing very badly against Trump. I was in the Senate bathroom with him. I said, 'Lindsey, if I were a Republican, I'd vote for you.' And without hesitation, he said, 'That's my problem.'"
"But we're friends," he added. "We disagree on almost everything, but we'll talk about a few things we agree – one thing we agree on – and then of course we'll be talking about his friend, the former president."
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After Trevor Noah's departure from the show, Franken was one of the many guests set to host the Comedy Central program. Each of the guests will host the show for a week before a permanent host in chosen.
Kal Penn, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Hasan Minaj, D.L. Hughley, Wanda Sykes and Marlon Wayans were also selected as guest hosts for the show. The hosts have all been staunch progressives and in some cases former Democratic operatives or politicians.
Penn, an actor and former Principal Associate Editor in the White House Office of Public Engagement during the Obama Administation, sat down with President Biden for an interview that aired on March 13.
Franken, who was a writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live" for several years, also criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., during his appearance on CBS on Monday.
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"Well, what he's done is ridiculous in Florida. He has this law that if a teacher makes a kid feel uncomfortable about anything, I guess, including their race, the parent can sue them. So, I mean, how do you teach American history in Florida? It's like, ‘For our first 200 years, there were people who had to work for free. No, not like, your father's, the free internship you did for your father,'" Franken said.
Franken stepped down from the Senate amid sexual misconduct allegations and pressure from several Democrats in 2018.
He also said he had "no plans" to return to politics. Franken resigned from office in 2018 after multiple allegations of sexual misconduc.
"I get asked that all the time. I have no plans to do that, no. People have asked me to run for president. The problem with that is, if I won, I'd have to be president. And I don't think I want to do that," he told the hosts.
