Former United States Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he will be more mindful about personal space after two women claimed that he had touched them inappropriately. The development comes amid speculation that he will run for president in 2020.
In a video message on Twitter, Biden said he had always tried to make a human connection. “Social norms are changing,” Biden said. “I understand that, and I have heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That is my responsibility and I will meet it.”
On March 29, Nevada politician Lucy Flores alleged that the Democrat had kissed her on the back of her head in 2014. In an essay for The Cut, the former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Nevada had said Biden made her feel “uneasy, gross, and confused”.
Flores had said that the behaviour did not amount to sexual assault but it was inappropriate. “What I am saying is that it is completely inappropriate, that it does not belong in any kind of a professional setting, much less in politics,” she had added.
On March 31, Biden had said he believed that he had never acted inappropriately.
Connecticut-based Amy Lappos on April 1 alleged that Biden had touched her inappropriately, Hartford Courant had reported. Lappos had alleged that he had rubbed noses with her during a 2009 political fundraiser in Greenwich. “It wasn’t sexual, but he did grab me by the head,” she told the daily. “He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth.”
Biden is expected to make a final decision later this month on whether he will run for president or not.
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