(Getty) Joe Biden
Former vice president Joe Biden says he is “not sorry” for any of his past actions. Biden said Friday that he had never done anything disrectful, intentionally, to a man or a woman. But the former vice president also said that he was sorry for any misunderstandings that he’d been involved in. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden said.” I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I’ve never done anything unintentionally to a man or woman”
You can watch Biden explaining himself to a reporter here:
Joe Biden: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more. I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I’ve never done anything unintentionally to a man or woman” t.co/WaBBLDniMA
Biden was responding to widespread criticism that he had been “handsy” and overly physical with a number of women. Biden has not been accused of sexual harassment, but his critics say that he has touched women in ways that made them uncomfortable. Others say that Biden invades the personal space of both women and children. Some of the former vice president’s critics refer to him as “creepy Uncle Joe.”
Nevada Democrat Lucy Flores Said Her Opinion of Biden Changed Forever After He Gave Her an ‘Awkward’ Kiss
Lucy Flores is a former member of the Nevada State Assembly. In 2014, back when Biden was vice president, Flores was running for lieutenant governor of her state. Biden traveled to Nevada to stump for her. While they were waiting to go on stage at the rally, Flores says that Biden came up behind her, smelled her hair, and held her firmly by the shoulders. Then, she says, the vice president planted a lingering kiss on the back of her head.
Biden has come forward to say has said that he did not behave inappropriately with Flores. But Flores says she was horrified by his behavior. In an article published on March 29, she wrote:
“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*ck? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?” He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening.”
Flores continued:
“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.”
Stephanie Carter Says Biden Didn’t Make Her Uncomfortable at All When He Whispered in Her Ear
Stephanie Carter is the wife of Ash Carter, who was Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration. Stephanie Carter has attracted attention recently because of old footage that shows Joe Biden holding her by the shoulders and whispering in her ear during her husband’s swearing-in ceremony. You can see that footage above, or here.
Many people have said that Biden was behaving in an inappropriate way towards Stephanie Carter. Lucy Flores said that seeing Biden with Carter was upsetting for her. But Stephanie Carter herself says that the incident didn’t make her at all uncomfortable. Instead, Carter said in a recent article that Biden was an old friend who had been trying to help her get through a tough moment. You can read her article about Biden here.
Carter wrote that Biden was just trying to calm her down because she was having a tough day. Carter writes that she and her husband had visited Arlington Cemetary before Ash’s swearing-in ceremony. She slipped and fell on some ice, and felt self-conscious because journalists saw and tweeted about her fall. By the time she and Ash got to the White House, Carter said she was feeling “uncharacteristically nervous.” She said Biden picked up on her mood and gave her a hug. After the swearing-in ceremony, she said Biden put his hands on her shoulders as a show of support. She says he also leaned in to whisper “thank you for letting him [Ash Carter] do this.”
Carter says that she and her husband had been friendly with Joe and Jill Biden for years, and that the incident was just a matter of an old friend — Biden — showing support. She says she didn’t talk about the encounter for years, because she was hoping it would blow over. But now, she says, she’s not willing to let other people tell her story any more.