Sen. Al Franken: I was joking about Sen. John McCain

Sen. Al Franken on Monday said that remarks he made more than 15 years ago — before he became a senator — about Sen. John McCain’s military service were a joke.

The Minnesota Democrat’s remarks are similar to those of Donald Trump, who ignited a firestorm after telling a crowd in Iowa on Saturday that McCain is “not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

Franken said he told a similar joke on his radio show, during an episode where McCain, the Arizona Republican, was a guest in 2004. Franken said Monday that McCain understood the intent of the joke, and he praised the Republican senator for his “amazing feat of courage.”

http://www.startribune.com/sen-al-franken-i-was-joking-about-sen-john-mccain/317645351/