UPDATE 4/3/19 3:35 P.M. EST: Biden is not bidin’ his time.
The former VP and possible candidate for P has now finally addressed his kissing controversy head-on.
In a message to the American people on Twitter, Joe took responsibility for violating new “social norms” and vowed to “be more mindful about respecting personal space.”
See the whole message for yourself (below):
Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve 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’s my responsibility and I will meet it. pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 3, 2019
“Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?”
It’s a totally reasonable question… that no American citizen should ever have to ask.
But in a new essay in The Cut, a woman named Lucy Flores tells the story of how Joe Biden did just that.
Related: Biden Called Himself ‘The Most Qualified Person To Be President’?
Flores was one of multiple Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2014. Biden’s office reached out to her camp to say he wanted to stump for her and a few other Democratic candidates.
Describing the scheduled campaign rally, Flores paints a hectic scene — but with one moment cemented in her mind forever.
She writes:
“Just before the speeches, we were ushered to the side of the stage where we were lined up by order of introduction. As I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. ‘Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?'”
Yeah, that is shiver-inducing. Any man you don’t know touching you in a familiar way like that, it’s just… ew!
She continues:
“I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual f**k? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?'”
And it got even weirder…
“He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused.
There is a Spanish saying, ‘tragame tierra,’ it means, ‘earth, swallow me whole.’ I couldn’t move and I couldn’t say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience.”
Flores explains how that brief interaction colored the entire experience:
“He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job. Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused. The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners — and I felt powerless to do anything about it.”
No woman should be made to feel that way.
And the thing is, she isn’t alone. She’s not the first woman to express discomfort in how Biden handled her.
You may recall Biden getting awkward as hell with Stephanie Carter as her husband, Ashton Carter, was being sworn in as Secretary of Defense.
Look at the hands on the shoulders, what looks like a kiss on the back of the head.
Look familiar?
And here he is making Senator Chris Coons‘ 13-year-old daughter appear super duper creeped out:
https://giphy.com/gifs/iOo85QdfNj3tm
How is he not seeing that reaction? You don’t need reading glasses to get that body language, Joe!
For the record, Coons later defended Biden, saying his daughter Maggie didn’t “think the vice president is creepy,” telling Fox News Sunday:
“He’s known my kids their whole lives. Joe was just being thoughtful, he was leaning forward. I could hear him. He was leaning forward and whispering some encouragement to her about how when he was sworn in and his own daughter Ashley was 13 and she felt awkward and uncomfortable and he was encouraging her about how to get through a day with lots of cameras and lots of folks watching. He was being Joe. He was being thoughtful, and he was being sweet. I think she is pleasantly surprised that more people have heard of her than have heard of me.”
“Pleasantly surprised” is not how we would describe that face, but OK.
But even given the benefit of the doubt, what we’re seeing is a man trying to be “sweet” and avuncular and getting WAY too close to lots of women.
Because he didn’t know Lucy Flores her whole life. He wasn’t her “Uncle Joe.” He was a coworker of a much higher position, and he was being overly familiar with her. It made her feel uncomfortable, and he should have known that.
Look, this may not exactly cross a boundary into sexual misconduct. But it is about how the man treats younger women.
Let’s be honest. No one thinks for a second he’s going to do this to Cory Booker.
At best it’s just so demeaning. At best. And Joe should know better.
Flores’ entire article is worth a read — it’s well-written and insightful. We’ll leave you with her conclusion on the matter:
“I’m not suggesting that Biden broke any laws, but the transgressions that society deems minor (or doesn’t even see as transgressions) often feel considerable to the person on the receiving end. That imbalance of power and attention is the whole point — and the whole problem.”
[Image via Hugh Dillon/WENN.]
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