Monday’s CBS Mornings once again dedicated an entire segment to promoting the terminally unfunny and leftist “comedy” program The Daily Show while the program is featuring a cycle of substitute guest hosts to replace pseudo-comedian Trevor Noah. This week’s host is former Democrat Senator Al Franken who the trio sucked up to while allowing him to smear Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and his education reforms.
After a friendly conversation on Franken’s upcoming hosting duties, guest co-host Vladimir Duthiers gave Franken his opening to attack and smear DeSantis.
Referring to the Florida governor, Duthiers whined “he’s recently led an attack on the word ‘woke’ and whatever that means. It’s come to mean something very different by Republicans.”
Egging Franken on, he asked Franken: “would you like, give me something to work with here?”
Franken then lied through his teeth while Duthiers, co-hosts Tony Dokoupil, and Obama donor Gayle King sat there and nodded along in agreement:
Well, what he’s done is ridiculous in Florida. He has this law that — that if a teacher makes a kid feel uncomfortable about anything, I guess, including their race, that the parent can sue them. So I mean, how do you teach history, you know, American history in Florida? It is like, for our first 200 years, there were people who had to work for free.
Duthiers didn’t push back. Instead, he agreed with his false narrative falsely claiming “I’ve seen proposals where people say when you’re talking about Rosa Parks, you don’t mention her race. You just mention that she was asked to step to the back of the bus, but she chose not to do that and she should be applauded for that. You take out the mention.”
Franken jumped back in and whined that the books say “she was told to sit at the back of the bus if that will make them feel uncomfortable.”
King then butted in and snarked “context matters” while Dokoupil dismissively said “it’s a very tricky business down in Florida right now.”
If the fact-checkers were honest and didn’t only target one side, Franken and Duthiers would be given a pants-on-fire rating for this.
This segment on CBS Mornings was made possible by Popeyes and Nissan. Their information is linked.
The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:
CBS Mornings
03/20/23
7:03:23 a.m. [TEASE]
20 seconds[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Comedian Al Franken]
TONY DOKOUPIL: Also here live, comedian and former Senator Al Franken. He is back on TV as this week’s guest host of The Daily Show. We’ve got a lot to talk to him about —
GAYLE KING: Yes.
DOKOUPIL: — including what’s next for him and not only The Daily Show.
KING: What a good time for him to be stepping in on The Daily Show.
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: I know.
KING: Something tells me he’s going to be really good at that.
DUTHIERS: A coincidink?
KING: A coincidink, that’s right.
DUTHIERS: A coincidink.
(....)
7:25:49 a.m. [TEASE]
9 seconds
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Ahead; “Daily Show” Guest Host Al Franken]
KING: Still ahead, former Senator Al Franken is returning to his late-night comedy roots. He’ll be here in studio today to talk about guest hosting The Daily Show.
(....)
8:00:56 a.m. [TEASE]
14 seconds
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Comedian Al Franken]
DUTHIERS: And this week’s Daily Show guest host is comedian and former Senator Al Franken. He’ll also be here in the studio to tell us about returning to late night.
KING: Something tells me he’ll be ready.
(....)
8:13:25 a.m. [TEASE]
10 seconds
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Coming Up; Al Franken’s Late-Night Return]
DUTHIERS: Check out who’s in our Progressive green room. Comedian Al Franken is here to talk about his return to late-night guest hosting The Daily Show. Looking forward to that.
(....)
8:17:20 a.m.
5 minutes and 50 seconds
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Al Franken Live; Comedian & Fmr. Senator on Guest-Hosting “The Daily Show” & Future]
DOKOUPIL: Former Senator Al Franken —
KING: Al Franken!
DOKOUPIL: — we’re talking in the morning, as well, returning to his roots in late-night television. Franken starred — started, rather, as an original writer for Saturday Night Live where he worked for 15 seasons. Starting tonight he will be working once again in late night, guest hosting The Daily Show after Trevor Noah stepped down. The Daily Show airs on Comedy Central which, of course, is a division of Paramount. Al Franken, good morning.
AL FRANKEN: Good morning.
DOKOUPIL: Boy, what —
KING: We should say we were laughing because you’re already starting with a joke. We were talking about children, and the senator said that he has four grandchildren, I said what’s your grandpa name, you said call me what they call you and what is that?
FRANKEN: Senator.
KING: Alright. Senator it is.
DOKOUPIL: I don’t think he’s joking.
KING: I do.
FRANKEN: They call me grandpa.
DOKOUPIL: The former President — President Trump is calling for nationwide protests in response to —
FRANKEN: Of course.
DOKOUPIL: — his potential — his potential indictment. Will you be attending the protest? Are you going to work that into your job here as The Daily Show host?
FRANKEN: Well, I’m a — I’m a proud boy, and he told us to stand back and stand by.
KING: Yes.
FRANKEN: So yeah — I — we don’t know if he’s going to be indicted, do we? And — but
KING: And neither does he.
FRANKEN: — he did what he did. And I think it was to, you know, get protests if it happens.
DOKOUPIL: Does the abundance of news this week make your job harder in this late-night return or easier?
FRANKEN: Easier.
KING: Yeah, I’ll bet.
DUTHIERS: You’ve got great material.
KING: I’ll bet.
FRANKEN: Yeah, yeah. No, it’s — it will be interesting if he just doesn’t get indicted, so that will — it will be — you know, it will be more news if he’s indicted, of course.
KING: Well, I predict, senator, you’re going to kill it. You know, you’re smart enough, you’re good enough, and dog gone it, people like you.
FRANKEN: Aw, well, thanks for remembering.
KING: Something that I came up off the top of my head. I’m wondering how you’re feeling about this? Because number one, it seems like it’s the perfect platform and right up your alley to sit in this seat and do what you’re going to do. Are you nervous? You excited? How are you preparing and getting ready?
FRANKEN: Well, because it’s the perfect thing for me, I’m really nervous.
KING: Are you?
FRANKEN: Of course, of course. I haven’t really done this in — this format in a while. And I’ve seen — they’ve had I think eight or nine other hosts —
KING: Yeah.
FRANKEN: — since Trevor stepped back and they’ve been terrific and each tries to make it his own or her own, and —
KING: Okay. So, how are you going to try to make it your own? Like who’s the guest?
FRANKEN: Well, for example —
KING: Yeah?
FRANKEN: — tonight I have Lindsey Graham.
KING: Oh, perfect timing. Yeah.
DOKOUPIL: That’s a great guest.
FRANKEN: People — you know, when I — when I go around the country and people would ask — we’re friends, people would ask me when I did my tour like who’s the funniest — who’s funniest senator, I say Lindsey. And my crowd would get really mad.
KING: Is he funny?
FRANKEN: He’s really funny.
KING: Is he?
FRANKEN: The first time — well, when he was running for president in 2000, what year was that? In ‘16.
DUTHIERS: He was running in ‘16.
KING: In ‘16.
FRANKEN: ‘16 and he was doing very badly against Trump. I was in the bathroom, Senate bathroom with him. I said, “Lindsey, if I were a Republican I’d vote for you.” And he said, without hesitation — he said, "That’s my problem." And he’s — if we were — we’re friends, we disagree to almost everything, but we’ll talk about a few things we agree — one thing we agree on —
KING: Yeah.
FRANKEN: — and then of course, we’ll be talking about his friend —
DOKOUPIL: Well —
FRANKEN: — the former President.
DUTHIERS: So, let me — let’s talk about some current events. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he is a strong contender for a 2024 run. He’s recently led an attack on the word “woke” and whatever that means. It’s come to mean something very different by Republicans. What would you — like, give me something to work with here?
FRANKEN: Well, what he’s done is ridiculous in Florida. He has this law that — that if a teacher makes a kid feel uncomfortable about anything, I guess, including their race, that the parent can sue them. So I mean, how do you teach history, you know, American history in Florida? It is like, for our first 200 years, there were people who had to work for free.
KING: Mmhmm.
DOKOUPIL: Yeah.
FRANKEN: And no, not like your father’s — you know, like the free internship you did for your father. You know, I mean, it’s like —
DUTHIERS: I’ve seen proposals where people say when you’re talking about Rosa Parks, you don’t mention her race. You just mention that she was asked —
KING: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: to step to the back of the bus, but she chose not to do that and she should be applauded for that. You take out the mention —
FRANKEN: — that she was told to sit at the back of the bus.
KING: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: — right.
FRANKEN: If that will make them feel uncomfortable.
KING: Yes, context matters.
DOKOUPIL: It’s a very tricky business down in Florida right now. Speaking of a tricky business, so politics, you’re hanging out with a Senator tonight, Lindsey Graham, and used to be a Senator and everyone knows the story. You stepped down after these allegations of sexual misconduct, which you’ve denied. What might you do to start hanging out with the 99 other senators other than Lindsey Graham? Will you run again? Are you interested in running again?
FRANKEN: I’ve been as — I get asked that all the time. I — I have no plans to do that now. No.
KING: No?
FRANKEN: No.
KING: Do you miss it?
FRANKEN: People have asked me to run for President, but I said if — the problem with that is if I won, I’d have to be President, and I don’t think I want to do that.
KING: But do you miss the day-to-day senator? Do you?
FRANKEN: I do.
KING: You do.
FRANKEN: I do. I miss the day-to-day. I also miss being able to do good things for people, that’s mainly what I —
DOKOUPIL: I’m really bummed who you looked like you really meant it. You’re not interested in a future in politics, and I had a feeling you were going to say yes. It was on the sheet. I thought it was there for a reason, but we got to —
FRANKEN: — I didn’t put it on the sheet.
DOKOUPIL: — Al Franken —
KING: A lot of people would like to see you run again.
DOKOUPIL: — who didn’t put it on the sheet, but he will be on The Daily Show guest hosting tonight. It is on Comedy Central.
