Sen. Al Franken said he would not run for president in 2020, during an interview posted Wednesday with the Minneapolis website TCJewfolk.com.
"First of all, I'm not running for president. I think that normally what senators do is to enter the presidential race, then lose very quickly and run for the Senate. That seems to be how it works," the Minnesota Democrat said.
The senator and former "Saturday Night Live" comedian has gained a following as a potential candidate thanks to his taking on President Donald Trump's Cabinet appointees, according to a report in the National Journal.
"He's emerged as one of the Democrats' most aggressive and effective questioners of President Trump's Cabinet nominees," Josh Kraushaar wrote in RealClearPolitics.
"He's generated numerous made-for-TV clips as one of the few Democrats willing to go full-bore against his party's top targets," Kraushaar added.
Franken appeared on "Saturday Night Live" from 1975 to 1980 and from 1985 to 1995. One of his roles on "SNL" was as self-help guru parody Stuart Smalley.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.