[W]ASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. said Thursday that President Donald Trump should “think about resigning” over allegations of past sexual misconduct.
Sanders made his comments on “CBS This Morning” early Thursday when he was asked about his call for Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to step down amid reports of misbehavior toward women.
Sanders said there is a need for a “cultural revolution” in how women are treated across the country.
“We have a president of the United States who acknowledged on a tape — widely seen all over this country — that he assaulted women,” Sanders said. “So I would hope that maybe the president of the United States might pay attention to what’s going on and also think about resigning.”
Sanders referred to a video from an appearance Trump made on “Access Hollywood” in 2005 in which he was recorded making lewd comments about women, including boasting about forcibly grabbing women’s genitals.
Additionally, more than a dozen women have publicly accused Trump of groping them, kissing them without consent, and walking into rooms where they were changing clothes.
Trump denies the allegations.
Sanders posted similar remarks on Twitter.
We have a president who acknowledged on tape that he assaulted women. I would hope that he pays attention to what’s going on and think about resigning.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 7, 2017
Franken announced Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor that he will resign from his post within the next few weeks.
Franken denied allegations several women have made against him and did not offer an apology.
He did reference sexual misconduct allegations against Trump and against the Republican candidate for an Alabama Senate seat, Roy Moore, who has been accused of pursuing teenagers when he was in his 30s.
“I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” Franken said.
Though about a dozen fellow Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, sat through the speech, nobody made any remarks afterward.
The chamber sat in silence as Franken exchanged handshakes or hugs with his Democratic colleagues.
Neither Sanders nor Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who also called for Franken to resign, attended Franken’s speech.
