“No, no. That's not fair. That was cheap,” he continued. “There are some who I guess don't talk to me.”

Franken then got a bit more serious.

“I haven't heard a lot of good things, and I've heard great concern about the president's temperament,” he said.

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Maher responded: “That's very diplomatic of you.”

To which Franken said with a smile: “Not very, was it? I don't think this was diplomatic, but I'll take it.”

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Franken isn't the first Democrat to say Republicans senators are privately fretting. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has said his GOP colleagues privately worry about Trump's “incompetence” and “ethics.”

Franken, whose profile is rising as a Trump antagonist and who has even gotten some 2020 buzz, was also asked about whether impeachment proceedings might be brought against Trump.

Franken's (apparently joking?) response:

“Let me remind you again that Republicans are in the majority. So I think it'll be — it's months and months away.”