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- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that the two recent allegations of former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately touching women don’t "disqualify" him from running for president.
- "To say I’m sorry that you were offended is not an apology," Pelosi said of Biden’s recent statements responding to the accusations, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Over the past week, two separate women said they felt Biden, who is expected to run for president in 2020, had inappropriately touched them at various points during the past decade.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that the two recent allegations of former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately touching women don’t "disqualify" him from running for president.
Speaking at a Politico Playbook breakfast event, Pelosi said that while the accusations don’t rule him out as a potential candidate, his response to the accusations wasn’t sufficient.
"To say I’m sorry that you were offended is not an apology," Pelosi said of Biden’s recent statements responding to the accusations, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to reporters at the event, Pelosi said his intentions mattered less than how the touching was perceived, joking that he should join her as a member of the "straight-arm club" in refraining from touching people.
Over the past week, two separate women said they felt Biden, who is expected to run for president in 2020, had inappropriately touched them at various points during the past decade.
Read more: Joe Biden accuser Lucy Flores recounted her story in detail in her first TV interview
Last Friday, former Nevada state legislator and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Lucy Flores accused Biden of smelling her hair and kissing the back of her head without her consent at a 2014 event in Las Vegas.
And on Monday, Connecticut woman and former congressional aide Amy Lappos alleged that Biden grabbed her head and "rubbed noses" with her at a 2009 fundraiser.
"It wasn’t sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Lappos told The Hartford Courant. "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."
In a Friday statement, representatives for Biden released a statement saying "he never intended to cause discomfort" when hugging or otherwise touching women at political events, and that he didn’t believe he had ever acted inappropriately.
Read more: Joe Biden’s team shoots down allegations that he touches women inappropriately
In a subsequent Monday statement, Biden’s team called out other photographs of Biden with Stephanie Carter and Sen. Chris Coons’ daughter that people have cited as additional evidence of inappropriate touching as "smears and forgeries" perpetuated by "right-wing trolls."
Stephanie Carter, the wife of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, recently wrote that a photo of Biden putting his hands on her shoulders at her husband’s swearing-in was a show of support between friends and was not inappropriate.
As former Biden aides and allies have defended his record on women’s rights and said he’s never made them feel uncomfortable, fellow Democrats have expressed concern over the allegations and said Flores and Lappos should be believed.
See Also:
- Bernie Sanders is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
- John Delaney is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
- Pete Buttigieg is running for president in 2020. Here’s everything we know about the candidate and how he stacks up against the competition.
Source: Business Insider – gpanetta@businessinsider.com (Grace Panetta)