Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is very brave. At least, in her own mind.

The New York senator and supposed 2020 presidential hopeful appeared Monday on ABC’s "The View" to discuss politics, pop culture, Republican Party scandals and the burgeoning “MeToo” movement. Though the senator's sit-down was about as enlightening as you’d expect from this kind of show, there was one particularly notable moment. Early in the interview, Gillibrand was called on to defend her role last December in calling for former Sen. Al Franken's, D-Minn., resignation over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

“For me, Al Franken is a friend of mine,” Gillibrand began. “[S]o it was really hard and heartbreaking.”

The senator continued, responding specifically to Joy Behar's complaint that Franken was asked to resign even though there have been no personal or professional repercussions for President Trump, who stands accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct.

“It's not okay … to grab women without their consent," Gillibrand said. "It's not okay. So why would you want to hold our elected leaders to the lowest standard and not the highest standard? We should be holding all our elected leaders to the highest standard."

She added, “I can't be a good mother, and I can’t be a good senator, if I am silenced just because it's my friend.”

The crowd went wild.



What’s so amusing about Gillibrand’s response here is that it ignores the fact that she didn’t do or say anything about Franken's alleged misconduct until the number of his accusers topped a half dozen. In fact, prior to the seventh Franken accusation, Gillibrand did her best to dodge and duck the story.

“It’s his decision [whether he resigns],” the senator told reporters back when you could count his accusers on only one hand. “I was the first Democrat to call for the investigation. I think having that process is important.”

But then a seventh woman surfaced, and boy was Gillibrand mad. Yessir, no one will silence her!

Mind you, she was apparently okay merely referring Franken’s alleged conduct to the Ethics Committee when there was only one and then two, then three, then four, then five, and then six accusers. But seven is too many, by God!

This is all pretty remarkable, but the real cherry on top here is what happened on "The View" immediately after Gillibrand told the table she couldn’t be silenced in the face of serious allegations of sexual misconduct.

Co-host Meghan McCain asked the senator to respond to recent reports alleging Hillary Clinton shielded a top 2016 campaign adviser from multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Gillibrand, whose entire political career has been built on the backs of the Clintons, took a pass on the question, opting instead to direct the conversation elsewhere.

Brave indeed.