Biden Jokes About Inappropriate Touching, His Accuser Doesn't Think It's Funny At All
The Democratic Party has a “#MeToo” problem, and former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t seem to understand just how serious it is.
Biden is the latest politician to be accused of inappropriate behavior toward women, adding to the Democrats’ headaches from scandals in Virginia and elsewhere.
The timing couldn’t be worse for him: Biden is widely seen as a serious contender for the White House 2020, but that’s all in question now.
Several women have now accused Biden of unwanted touching, allegations that have only been reinforced by the countless photos and videos of him clearly making women and children uncomfortable in public settings.
The right thing to do, especially for members of a party that claims to be the voice of women, would be to take those claims seriously and soberly pledge to get to the truth of the matter.
But Biden took a different approach Friday.
During a speech in Washington, the 76-year-old former vice president cracked jokes about inappropriately touching people.
“One joke came shortly after Biden invited four children on stage,” CNBC reported. “Biden put his arm around a young boy and told the crowd, ‘By the way, he gave me permission to touch him.'”
He made a similar joke later during the event.
Here’s an idea: Instead of making uncomfortable jokes about touching kids, how about you keep your hands to yourself?
One person who was not amused by Biden’s attempts at humor is former Democratic politician Lucy Flores, one of the women who has accused him.
“To make light of something as serious as consent degrades the conversation women everywhere are courageously trying to have,” Flores said to CNBC.
She said Biden “hasn’t reflected at all on how his inappropriate and unsolicited touching made women feel uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable” would be putting Flores’ feelings mildly. In a piece published by New York Magazine, the former candidate for Nevada’s lieutenant governor opened up about her chilling experiences with Biden during a campaign event in 2014.
“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?'” Flores recalled. “I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified.”
Other women have come forward with similar stories.
The real question here is whether liberals will treat Biden the same way they would a conservative in a similar position. It’s tough — if not impossible — to imagine anyone on the left not being outraged if, say, Brett Kavanaugh had made questionable jokes about groping women during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Kavanaugh, of course, took the claims against him head-on and provided evidence plus testimony that helped clear his name. What he didn’t do was make bad jokes about it.
As his accuser said, Biden just doesn’t seem to understand the seriousness of his actions. If he continues on this path, he just might end up defeating himself before the 2020 election even heats up — even with liberals scrambling to run cover.
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