Why Did Trump Call Al Franken ‘Frankenstien’ On Twitter?
Donald Trump Image by Getty Images
By Josh Nathan-Kazis November 17, 2017
Was “Al Frankenstien” a typo? A joke? An anti-Semitic dog whistle?
Such were the questions Friday night after President Donald Trump tweeted his thoughts on the new sexual harassment allegations against Senator Al Franken, who apologized earlier in the day for kissing and groping a woman without her consent on a USO tour in 2006.
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? …..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2017
In his late-night tweet, Trump referred to Franken as “Al Frankenstien,” perhaps a misspelled reference to the fictional scientist who created the famous green monster. The apparent attempt at humor drew puzzlement from some Twitter users, who noted that the suffix also served to make Franken’s name look even more Jewish.
He called Al Franken Al Frankenstein to remind the world he’s Jewish. He did it 2 days after the Bernie Bernstein robocall. Not an accident
— Stefanie Iris Weiss (@EcoSexuality) November 17, 2017
Others noted that Trump had little ground to criticize others for sexual harassment, given the many allegations against him.
Somewhere in DC, a glass house just shattered.
— Amanda Becker (@AmandaBecker) November 17, 2017
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
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