Minnesota Newspaper: It May Not Be Possible for Al Franken to Regain Our Trust

Minnesota’s largest newspaper was unimpressed with the first press conference Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) held Monday after fielding sexual misconduct allegations, urging Franken to “consider what is best for Minnesota” in an editorial Monday evening.

KABC radio anchor Leeann Tweeden first accused the senator earlier in November of forcibly kissing and groping her back in 2006. Minnesota woman Lindsay Menz claimed that Franken groped her during a photo op at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. Others have come forward as well, leading Franken to apologize at the press conference for losing the “people’s trust,” while refusing to resign.

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“It’s going to take a long time to regain people’s trust, but I hope that starts today by getting back to work,” Franken said Monday. “I’ve been trying to take responsibility … I am going to be accountable.”

But the Star Tribune expressed its dissatisfaction with Franken’s response to the allegations.

“Franken is right — he has much to do to regain Minnesotans’ trust. It may not be possible,” the paper’s editorial board wrote. “As he continues his reflection, we urge the senator to consider what is best for Minnesota and to weigh that more heavily than what might be best for his political career.”

Noting that “Minnesotans and the country at large deserved to hear from him” after Franken broke “his self-imposed silence over the weekend” in interviews and held the press conference Monday, the editorial board did not mince words when it rebuked Franken for delivering an apology that “falls lamentably short in several respects.”

“With a Senate ethics investigation looming, Franken remains on politically shaky ground. It’s debatable whether he is, as he said, ‘holding myself accountable,'” the paper added.

“We urge the senator to consider what is best for Minnesota and to weigh that more heavily than what might be best for his political career.”

Franken has maintained that he “would never intentionally” grope a woman, which led the Star Tribune to wonder whether one can “credibly apologize for acts without acknowledging they occurred?”

“Under such circumstances, Franken’s apology is less a statement of accountability and more akin to ‘I’m sorry for what you think I did,'” the editorial board wrote. “Franken may just be trying to ride out the storm, as is the case too often these days.”

Related: Shock Poll: Just 22 Percent of Minnesotans Think Al Franken Should Stay in the Senate

To make matters even worse for Franken, the Minnesota Democrat was unable to assure Americans that more groping allegations wouldn’t arise, telling CBS Minnesota that he “can’t say” whether he put his hand on “some woman’s butt” in “crowded, chaotic situations.”

“Franken has declared himself ready to get back to work — and well he should,” the Star Tribune wrote. “At least in the short term, Franken’s effectiveness will be hampered by persistent questions about the allegations, the ethics investigation, and the lingering possibility that other women may come forward — something Franken does not dismiss.”

Although Franken is attempting to put the past behind him and hold tightly to his Senate seat, Minnesotans may not be on board with that plan.

A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll released Wednesday found that only 22 percent of Minnesota voters think that Franken should remain in office. A Politico/Morning Consult poll also released Wednesday found that only 22 percent of Americans across the country think Franken should remain in office.

(photo credit, homepage image: Senator Al Franken, cut out, CC BY-SA 4.0, by Lorie Shaull; photo credit, article: Al Franken, cut out, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Peabody Awards)