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      Republican contender in Virginia avoids Trump’s campaign event

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      VirginiaRepublican contender in Virginia avoids Trump’s campaign event
      Glenn Youngkin to give Trump’s ‘tele rally’ a wide berth
      Opinion: Republican racial culture war reaches new heights
      Martin Pengelly@MartinPengellyMon 1 Nov 2021 14.36 EDTFirst published on Mon 1 Nov 2021 10.39 EDTDonald Trump was to host a Virginia campaign event on Monday for Glenn Youngkin, the Republican candidate for governor in a race headed down to the wire. But Youngkin was not planning to participate, as he attempted to balance appeals to the former president’s supporters with a semblance of independence.Why this governor’s race is shaping up as a referendum on the Biden presidencyRead moreTrump hoped a phone-in “tele rally” would hoist Youngkin past his Democratic opponent, the former governor Terry McAuliffe.The contest is seen by many as a referendum on the Biden presidency and a bellwether for midterm elections next year. On the day before polling day, the realclearpolitics.com polling average had Youngkin ahead by less than two points. Fivethirtyeight.com put the Republican up by one.McAuliffe had scheduled rallies in Roanoke, Virginia Beach and Richmond and in northern Virginia. Youngkin was to rally in Roanoke, Richmond, Virginia Beach and Loudon county.In Richmond, Youngkin addressed “an energetic crowd of what his campaign said was around 800 people” at a small airport, the Associated Press reported.“This is a moment for Virginians to push back on this left, liberal progressive agenda and take our commonwealth back,” he said.McAuliffe, who has called himself a “pro-business pro-progressive”, is a close ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton and has campaigned with President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, former president Barack Obama and other high-profile Democrats. Nonetheless he has struggled to generate enthusiasm in a state Biden won by 10 points.Youngkin, a businessman, has not appeared with Trump. On Saturday, he told reporters: “I’m not going to be engaged in the tele-town hall. The teams are talking, I’m sure.”Youngkin has however comfortably dealt in Trump-esque attack lines, most prominently and potentially fruitfully focusing on how race is taught in schools. In return McAuliffe has sought to tie Youngkin firmly to Trump, not a tough task in the debate over education.Youngkin has repeatedly raised the subject of critical race theory, an academic discipline turned into a bogeyman by Republicans nationwide. CRT examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society. It is not taught in Virginia public schools. Regardless, Youngkin has treated it as a genuine threat, stoking anger on the right, and has promised to ban it.Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, McAuliffe said Youngkin had gone too far. Citing a meeting with a voter in Hampton, he said the former school board member told him “our school boards were fine. Soon as Glenn Youngkin got nominated, all of a sudden, these people started showing up, creating such a ruckus, calling such obscene things”.“This was an African American woman,” McAuliffe said. “I can’t repeat on air what they’ve said about her. This was last night, up here in northern Virginia … we just lost a school board member … She said, ‘I was getting death threats. But when they said they were going to rape my children, I can’t take it anymore.’“That’s what Glenn Youngkin has done here in Virginia. He’s created hatred and division just like Donald Trump, and that’s why Donald Trump, his final campaign is going to be for Glenn Youngkin here in Virginia.“We don’t want Trump. We don’t want Youngkin. We don’t want the hatred and division.”In a statement on Monday, Trump freely demonstrated his willingness to exploit hatred and division.Lincoln Project members pose as white supremacists at Virginia GOP eventRead moreTaking barely veiled shots at the Lincoln Project – anti-Trump Republicans who have campaigned against him in Virginia, sometimes controversially, and who Trump referred to only as “perverts” – the former president said his enemies were “trying to create an impression that Glenn Youngkin and I are at odds and don’t like each other.“Importantly, this is not true. We get along very well together and strongly believe in many of the same policies, especially when it comes to the important subject of education.”Trump reiterated the need for Republicans to vote. He also sought to thread the needle between his insistence on mass voter fraud against him and the need for high Republican turnout – a trick he failed to pull off in Georgia in January, when Democrats won two Senate runoffs.If enough of his supporters voted, Trump said, they would overcome the fact that he was “not a believer in the integrity of Virginia’s elections”.TopicsVirginiaUS politicsRepublicansDemocratsRaceUS educationnewsReuse this content More

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      Cop26: Biden urges action on climate change and vows US will ‘lead by example’

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      Cop26Cop26: Biden urges action on climate change and vows US will ‘lead by example’‘Right now, we are falling short,’ US president says, urging other world leaders to embark upon a shift to clean energy01:43Oliver Milman in New York and Nina Lakhani in GlasgowMon 1 Nov 2021 13.01 EDTLast modified on Mon 1 Nov 2021 16.06 EDTJoe Biden has warned that the climate crisis poses “the existential threat to human existence as we know it” and urged other world leaders to embark upon a transformational shift to clean energy, as questions linger over the US president’s ability to deliver this vision at home.‘Brazil is a green powerhouse’ claims Bolsonaro at climate change summit – liveRead moreBiden, addressing a sparse chamber at crucial UN climate talks that have begun in a frigid and drizzly Glasgow, said that the conference must act as a “kickoff of a decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future”.The president added: “We meet with the eyes of history upon us. Will we do what is necessary? Or will we condemn future generations to suffer?”Biden’s administration is attempting to reassert America’s credibility at the gathering of nearly 200 countries in Scotland, known as Cop26, after Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US from the Paris climate agreement and his dismissal of climate science. Scientists have warned the world is badly off track to avoid disastrous climate change, with leaders of poorer, vulnerable countries using the talks to warn their populations face looming cataclysm.“We will demonstrate to the world the United States is not only back at the table but hopefully leading by the power of our example,” Biden said in his speech, in a tacit acknowledgement of Trump. “I know it hasn’t been the case, which is why my administration is working overtime to show our climate commitment is action not words.”“Right now, we are falling short, there’s no time to hang back, sit on the fence or argue amongst ourselves,” the president continued. “This is the challenge of our collective lifetimes, an existential threat to human existence as we know it and every day we delay the cost of inaction increases.”Biden said that wealthy, major polluters such as the US have an “overwhelming responsibility” to aid smaller countries that are struggling to cope with growing floods, fires and heatwaves spurred by global heating.Before arriving in Glasgow, Biden also took aim at some other leading emitters for not doing enough to prevent global heating surpassing 1.5C. He said these countries are “not only Russia but China (which) basically didn’t show up in terms of commitments to deal with climate change. I found it disappointing myself”.At a side event, Biden also effectively apologized for his predecessor. “I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact that the United States – the last administration – pulled out of the Paris accords and put us sort of behind the eight ball,” Biden said.But climate activists, many of whom gathered outside the Glasgow venue that hosted more than 120 world leaders on Monday, argue that Biden is failing to live up to his own words. The president touted vast proposed climate legislation that would be the “most significant investment to deal with the climate crisis that any advanced nation has made, ever,” but the bill remains stalled in Congress, after being winnowed away by a senator who has extensive ties to fossil fuels.“Biden is at Glasgow empty handed, with nothing but words on paper,” said Varshini Prakash, executive director of Sunrise Movement. “It is humiliating and fails to meet the moment that we’re in.”Biden has also been attacked over his administration’s reluctance to drastically scale back oil and gas drilling in the US. The president’s narrative of “climate leadership” contradicts the daily suffering by communities on the frontline of gas and oil production in the US, activists say. In the first six months of the Biden administration, about 2,500 new oil and gas permits were authorized – a figure Trump’s administration took a year to reach.Speakers outside Cop26 on Monday – only 23 civil society observers were allowed in to hear the leaders’ speeches – included Black and Indigenous leaders whose communities are on the frontline of fossil fuel extraction impacts, including air pollution and contaminated drinking water and land across the US.Tom Goldtooth, Native American leader from the Indigenous Environmental Network, said: “We’re here as the original people of the US to denounce the polluters conference – it’s not a climate conference – it’s been taken over by corporate interests. If we Indigenous people don’t come we’ll be on the menu. We’re here to defend our people, we want to live.”Biden’s speech came shortly after an official opening of Cop26 that acknowledged the growing anguish over the escalating, and largely unchecked, climate crisis. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, said “the people who will judge us are children not yet born”, adding “if we fail they will not forgive us”. Antonio Guterres, the secretary general of the UN, warned that “we are digging our own graves” due to the failure to dramatically cut planet-heating emissions.TopicsCop26Joe BidenClimate crisisUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Southwest Airlines investigates pilot’s use of ‘Let’s go Brandon’ anti-Biden jibe

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      US politicsSouthwest Airlines investigates pilot’s use of ‘Let’s go Brandon’ anti-Biden jibeAirline says it does not condone political expression on jobRightwing meme has been repeated in Congress and by Trump Martin Pengelly and agencies@MartinPengellyMon 1 Nov 2021 00.01 EDTSouthwest Airlines announced an internal investigation after a pilot was reported to have signed off a message to passengers by saying: “Let’s go Brandon.”Republican Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside CongressRead moreThe apparent non-sequitur is in fact a rightwing meme, based on a NBC sportscaster’s apparent mishearing of a chant of “Fuck Joe Biden” by a crowd at a Nascar circuit in Alabama at the start of October.On a Southwest flight from Houston, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday morning, an Associated Press reporter heard the pilot end a message over the public address system with the phrase, prompting gasps from some passengers.The reporter, Colleen Long, said she tried to ask the pilot about his comment but was “almost removed from [the] plane”.As discussion of the incident proliferated online, Southwest said in a statement it “takes pride in providing a welcoming, comfortable, safe and respectful environment for the millions of customers who fly with us each year.“Southwest does not condone employees sharing their personal political opinions while on the job, serving our customers. And one employee’s individual perspective should not be interpreted as the viewpoint of Southwest and its collective 54,000 employees.“Southwest is conducting an internal investigation into the recently reported event.”Predictably popular among supporters of Donald Trump, the man Joe Biden soundly beat for the White House last year, “Let’s go Brandon” swiftly reached the halls of Congress.Among uses by House Republicans, the Florida representative Bill Posey ended a floor speech with a fist pump and the phrase while Jeff Duncan, from South Carolina, wore a “Let’s Go Brandon” mask at the Capitol.In the Senate, Ted Cruz of Texas posed with a sign at a World Series game while the press secretary for Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, retweeted a photo of the phrase on a construction sign in Virginia.FBI failed to act on tips of likely violence ahead of Capitol attack – report Read moreTrump’s fundraising committee now sells a $45 T-shirt featuring “Let’s go Brandon” above an American flag. One message to supporters read: “#FJB or LET’S GO BRANDON? Either way, President Trump wants YOU to have our ICONIC new shirt.”Southwest said it would “address the situation directly with any employee involved while continuing to remind all employees that public expression of personal opinions while on duty is unacceptable.“Southwest does not tolerate any behavior that encourages divisiveness as it does not reflect the Southwest hospitality and inclusiveness for which we are known and strive to provide each day on every flight.”TopicsUS politicsAir transportJoe BidenRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      Jen Psaki, White House press secretary to Joe Biden, tests positive for Covid

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      Biden administrationJen Psaki, White House press secretary to Joe Biden, tests positive for CovidPsaki, who did not travel with the president to Europe, says her last contact with Biden was on Tuesday Martin Pengelly in New York and agencies@MartinPengellySun 31 Oct 2021 17.56 EDTLast modified on Sun 31 Oct 2021 20.08 EDTJen Psaki, Joe Biden’s White House press secretary, said on Sunday she had tested positive for Covid-19.Joe Biden dismisses bad polling and says domestic agenda set to pass Read morePsaki, 42, did not travel with Biden to Rome for this week’s G20 summit. The president is also due to travel to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate talks. Biden has been accompanied in Europe by his principal deputy press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre.News of a positive test for such a close aide to the president came a little over a year after an outbreak at the White House reached the then president, Donald Trump, who fell seriously ill and was forced to spend time in hospital.In a statement, Psaki said she last saw the 78-year-old Biden on Tuesday, “when we sat outside more than 6ft apart and wore masks”.Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Saturday, Reuters quoted “a person familiar with the matter” as saying.Psaki said she stayed in the US “due to a family emergency, which was members of my household testing positive for Covid-19”. She has two children.“Since then,” Psaki continued, “I have quarantined and tested negative via PCR for Covid on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. However, today I tested positive for Covid.“While I have not had close contact in person with the president or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday and tested negative for four days after that last contact, I am disclosing today’s positive test out of an abundance of transparency.”Psaki also said that “thanks to the vaccine I have only experienced mild symptoms, which has enabled me to continue working from home.“I will plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of the 10-day quarantine following a negative rapid test, which is an additional White House requirement beyond [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance, taken out an abundance of caution.”White House staff and others traveling with the president began undergoing daily tests for Covid-19 before departing Washington and are all fully vaccinated. Many officials have also received booster shots, due to the close-quarters environment and frequent travel associated with their work.Biden got his Covid-19 booster on 27 September, shortly after federal regulators approved the third dose for many Americans.On Sunday Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, responded to the news that Psaki had worn a mask around Biden by tweeting: “Good to still mask up, even if vaxxed.”Pro-vaccine Fox News host receives support from CNN anchor over death threatsRead moreAccording to Johns Hopkins University, the US has recorded nearly 46m cases of Covid-19 and more than 745,000 deaths. Resistance to vaccination mandates remains a concern, particularly among Republican voters, though case numbers are slowing.On Sunday, the CDC said the US had administered 422,070,099 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, up from 420,657,683 doses on Saturday. The agency said 221,520,153 people had received at least one dose, while 192,453,500 people were fully vaccinated.The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine. About 18.6 million people have received a booster dose.Full approval for children aged five to 12 to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is expected as soon as this week.TopicsBiden administrationJoe BidenUS politicsCoronavirusInfectious diseasesnewsReuse this content More

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      Joe Biden dismisses bad polling and says domestic agenda set to pass

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      Joe BidenJoe Biden dismisses bad polling and says domestic agenda set to pass
      President speaks to reporters at end of G20 summit in Rome
      Progressives Sanders and Khanna optimistic on spending plan
      Virginia: governor race becomes referendum on Biden
      Victoria Bekiempis and Martin PengellySun 31 Oct 2021 16.35 EDTFirst published on Sun 31 Oct 2021 11.53 EDTJoe Biden sought to brush off concerns about bad polling on Sunday, telling reporters he expected Democrats to overcome internal differences and pass both his domestic spending plan and a bipartisan infrastructure deal in the week to come.Republican Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside CongressRead moreEarlier, an NBC News poll found that 54% of US adults disapproved of Biden’s performance, down six points since August, a period in which the president’s domestic agenda has stalled amid intra-party division.Biden spoke to reporters in Rome at the end of the G20, before traveling to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit.He said: “I didn’t run to determine how well I’m going to do in the polls. I ran to make sure that I follow through on what I said I would do as president of the United States.“I said that I would make sure that we were in a position where we dealt with climate change, where we moved in a direction that would significantly improve the prospects of American workers having good jobs and good pay. And further that I would make sure that we dealt with the crisis that was caused by Covid.“… I believe we will pass my Build Back Better plan. I believe we will pass the infrastructure bill. Combined, they have $900bn in dealing with climate resilience, the largest investment in the history of the world that’s ever occurred. And it’s going to pass in my view, but we’ll see. We’ll see.”Biden has staked his presidency on his spending plans but Democrats in Congress have been split between progressives and moderates led by two senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Biden delayed his departure to Rome to plead with Democrats to pass his spending agenda.“We are at an inflection point,” he reportedly told House members. “The rest of the world wonders whether we can function.”Whether Democrats can deliver could also have significant implications for the midterm elections next year. Historically, parties holding the presidency fail to keep the House.Top Democrats reportedly want a final version of Biden’s $1.75tn spending plan drafted by Sunday and passed by Tuesday. The price tag has come down dramatically, from $3.5tn, with concessions to Manchin and Sinema. The infrastructure deal is valued at $1tn.Discussions continued throughout the weekend. Bernie Sanders, the chair of the Senate budget committee, told CNN’s State of the Union: “I can tell you, we are working right now. I spent all of yesterday on the telephone … as soon as I leave the studio, I’m going to be going back home to get on the phone.”Sanders said he was optimistic and added: “This is not easy stuff, but what we are trying to do is put together the most consequential piece of legislation in the modern history of this country, which will transform the role of government in protecting the needs of working families.”Sanders said he was fighting for action on prescription drugs costs to be included in the spending bill, an issue on which he and Sinema are in very evident opposition.In a 50-50 Senate, and with no Republican support on spending, Manchin and Sinema are key. Democrats must use reconciliation, a way to pass budgetary initiatives via a simple majority rather than 60 votes. The vice-president, Kamala Harris, has the decisive vote.The Senate did pass the infrastructure bill in August via a bipartisan vote but House progressives stymied it in an attempt to win concessions on the spending plan. On Sunday Ro Khanna of California, a prominent House progressive, told CBS’s Face the Nation he expected success.“We are working to add things in,” he said. “The negotiations are taking place. I’m going to be a yes. I think we can have the vote by Tuesday … I’m yes on the framework.”Cabinet members also expressed optimism. The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, told Fox News Sunday: “We are teed up for major action soon.”Asked if Congress would pass both pieces of legislation this week, he said: “We are the closest we have ever been.”Buttigieg also made a point sure to surface in the midterms if Biden is successful, telling ABC’s This Week he “wouldn’t let Republicans off the hook on voting for the family provisions too.“I know they probably won’t but it’s not too late for some of them to join Democrats who are united in believing that the time has come for us to actually put our money where our mouth is [and] support American families.”A Republican senator, Rick Scott of Florida, told Fox News Sunday Biden’s spending had “to end” as it was “causing inflation” and “hurting the poor families”.“We gotta live within our means like every family does,” Scott said.Huma Abedin says kiss from unnamed senator was not sexual assaultRead moreAsked if that meant Republicans should support repeal of tax cuts they passed under Donald Trump which are projected to add $2tn to the national debt, Scott said both taxes and spending should be cut.On NBC’s Meet the Press the energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, suggested Biden’s polling would be boosted when Americans see his spending bill.“They’ll see that they’re going to get a continuation of that child tax credit,” Granholm said. “They’ll see people being put to work in clean energy all across this country.“They’re going to see the ability to have senior citizens and people with disabilities being cared for in their homes. They’ll see their costs of living come down as a result of having children. This bill and the real impacts that people will see will have an impact on those ratings.”In Rome, Biden told reporters: “You know, you all believed [the spending bill] wouldn’t happen from the very beginning, the moment I announced it, and you always seem amazed when it’s alive again. Maybe it won’t work. But I believe we’ll see by the end of next week at home that the bills have passed.”
      The Associated Press contributed to this report
      TopicsJoe BidenBiden administrationUS domestic policyUS politicsUS CongressUS SenateDemocratsnewsReuse this content More

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      FBI failed to act on tips of likely violence ahead of Capitol attack – report

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      US Capitol attackFBI failed to act on tips of likely violence ahead of Capitol attack – report
      Washington Post publishes wide-ranging report on Capitol riot
      ‘Roadmap for a coup’: inside Trump plot to steal the presidency
      Reuters in WashingtonSun 31 Oct 2021 15.32 EDTThe FBI and other key law enforcement agencies failed to act on a host of tips and other information ahead of 6 January that signaled a potentially violent event might unfold that day at the US Capitol, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.Republican Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside CongressRead moreAmong information that came officials’ way in the weeks before what turned into a riot as lawmakers met to certify the results of the presidential election was a 20 December tip to the FBI that supporters of Donald Trump were discussing online how to sneak guns into Washington to “overrun” police and arrest members of Congress, according to internal bureau documents obtained by the Post.The tip included details showing those planning violence believed they had orders from the president, used code words such as “pickaxe” to describe guns, and posted the times and locations of four spots around the country for caravans to meet the day before the joint session.On one site, a poster specifically mentioned Mitt Romney, a Republican senator from Utah, as a target, the Post said.Romney was later one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump on one charge of inciting an insurrection, leveled by the House of Representatives during a second impeachment of the former president.An FBI official who assessed the tip noted that its criminal division received a “significant number” of alerts about threats to Congress and other government officials. The FBI passed the information to law enforcement agencies in Washington but did not pursue the matter, the Post said.“The individual or group identified during the assessment does not warrant further FBI investigation at this time,” the internal report concluded, according to the Post. Trump seeking to block call logs and notes from Capitol attack panelRead moreThat detail was among dozens included in the report, which the newspaper said was based on interviews with more than 230 people and thousands of pages of court documents and internal law enforcement reports, along with hundreds of videos, photographs and audio recordings.A special congressional committee is investigating events which exploded into violence after a rally Trump held near the White House to rail against the results of the election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Four people died on 6 January, one shot by police and the others of natural causes. More than 100 police officers were injured, one dying the next day. Four officers have since taken their own lives.More than 600 people have been charged with taking part in the violence.TopicsUS Capitol attackFBIUS politicsThe far rightWashington PostUS press and publishingUS crimenewsReuse this content More

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      Nine percent of New York City workers still unvaccinated after Friday deadline

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      New YorkNine percent of New York City workers still unvaccinated after Friday deadline
      Last-minute rush of jabs boost vaccination rate to 91%
      Fox News host gets death threats for vaccinations plea
      Victoria Bekiempis in New YorkSun 31 Oct 2021 13.02 EDTFirst published on Sun 31 Oct 2021 08.30 EDTNine percent of New York City’s municipal workforce remains unvaccinated following a Friday deadline to demonstrate proof of receiving at least Covid shot, officials said.‘They broke my heart’: sculptor laments Central Park Covid monument removalRead moreHowever, the percentage of city workers with at least one dose rose considerably as the deadline loomed.Opposition to vaccine mandates fueled by rightwing politicians and media figures led to protests in New York this week. But on Saturday night, authorities said 91% of city workers had received at least one dose, up from 83% on Friday and 76% on Thursday.Workers who did not abide by the requirement were still due to be placed on unpaid leave from Monday, potentially spurring staffing shortages in the police, fire, emergency medical services and sanitation departments.The New York police department vaccination rate stood at 84%, officials said. Asked about the plan for dealing with a potential staff shortfall, an NYPD spokesman said in an email: “We will be prepared for any changes in personnel due to the mandate.”City data indicated that 78% of fire department workers, and 79% of sanitation department workers, had received at least one dose as of Saturday.Those agencies also said they were preparing for staffing shortfalls.Fire officials said they were prepared to close up to 20% of fire companies and see 20% fewer ambulances in operation.The department planned to change schedules, cancel vacations and seek out non-fire department EMS providers.The fire commissioner, Daniel Nigro, slammed some firefighters who took paid sick leave in advance of the vaccine deadline.“The department has not closed any firehouses,” Nigro said. “Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters. They need to return to work or risk the consequences of their actions.”The New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, recently said the sanitation department would implement 12-hour shifts rather than the normal eight-hour shifts, and start working on Sundays so garbage did not accumulate amid staffing shortages.The Associated Press contributed to this report.TopicsNew YorkCoronavirusVaccines and immunisationInfectious diseasesUS healthcareUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Al Franken rules out Senate run against Gillibrand, who led push to remove him

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      Al FrankenAl Franken rules out Senate run against Gillibrand, who led push to remove himNew York senator led moves to push Franken out as Minnesota senator over allegations of sexual misconduct Martin Pengelly in New York@MartinPengellySun 31 Oct 2021 12.44 EDTLast modified on Sun 31 Oct 2021 12.45 EDTAl Franken on Sunday ruled out mounting a primary challenge to Kirsten Gillibrand, the New York senator who four years ago led calls for his resignation as a senator from Minnesota over allegations of sexual misconduct.Huma Abedin says kiss from unnamed senator was not sexual assaultRead moreIn a statement to Politico, Franken said: “Yes, I miss the Senate but I’m not going to run against Kirsten Gillibrand.”A writer, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member, Franken was narrowly elected as a Democrat in Minnesota in 2008 and returned to Washington much more comfortably six years later.He achieved national prominence, particularly as an acerbic critic of Republicans and Donald Trump. His last book before his resignation was titled Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.He was forced to quit in December 2017, amid the first stirrings of the #MeToo movement and over allegations that he touched women inappropriately or forcibly kissed them.Gillibrand led moves to push Franken out, writing: “Enough is enough. As elected officials, we should be held to the highest standards – not the lowest.”Franken did not face investigation by the Senate ethics committee.In his resignation speech, he said “all women deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously” but added: “Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember differently.”01:14He was replaced in the Senate by Tina Smith, a former lieutenant governor of Minnesota. In 2019, seven serving or retired senators told the New Yorker they regretted forcing Franken out.Franken told the magazine he regretted resigning and added: “I’m angry at my colleagues who did this. I think they were just trying to get past one bad news cycle.”Writing for the Guardian, the academic and feminist author Laura Kipnis said: “I myself thought at the time that if Franken had actually groped women during photo ops, as was alleged, he was right to resign.“… In late 2017, we were all pretty on edge, I think, combing our pasts for dormant memories of assaults and affronts, and there were so many stories – too many to make sense of. It was an off-with-their-heads moment, and for a while that felt great.“But there were also opportunists ‘telling their truths’. There was failed distinction-making and political expediency, and the impossibility of sorting motives from facts. That’s what’s starting to get unraveled now.”Republican Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside CongressRead moreAfter moving to New York City, Franken, now 70, has returned to national politics as a commentator, with a podcast and a venture into stand-up comedy, The Only Former US Senator Currently on Tour Tour. Prior to Sunday, he had done little to scotch rumours of a political comeback.Politico quoted an anonymous source as saying Gillibrand, New York’s junior senator since 2009 and a failed candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, had been “not exactly cool as a cucumber about” a possible challenge from Franken.Gillibrand’s chief of staff, Jess Fassler, told the website: “The only thing she’s worried about right now is getting family leave into the Build Back Better package.”In his statement to Politico, Franken only ruled out a run against Gillibrand.TopicsAl FrankenKirsten GillibrandUS SenateDemocratsUS politicsUS CongressUS midterm elections 2022newsReuse this content More