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| Joe Biden Says He Did Not Act Inappropriately with Lucy Flores | Joe Biden Says He Did Not Act Inappropriately with Lucy Flores |
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| Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., under pressure to respond to allegations that he touched and kissed a former Nevada assemblywoman, Lucy Flores, went on the defensive Sunday morning with a sweeping statement saying he did not believe he acted inappropriately but acknowledging that he had made “expressions of affection” during his years on the campaign trail. | Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., under pressure to respond to allegations that he touched and kissed a former Nevada assemblywoman, Lucy Flores, went on the defensive Sunday morning with a sweeping statement saying he did not believe he acted inappropriately but acknowledging that he had made “expressions of affection” during his years on the campaign trail. |
| In his statement, he emphasized that “not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately,” but pledged to listen to any accuser. He did not describe in detail the “expressions of affection,” but said there were also “countless handshakes, hugs” and attempts to “support and comfort” people he met. | In his statement, he emphasized that “not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately,” but pledged to listen to any accuser. He did not describe in detail the “expressions of affection,” but said there were also “countless handshakes, hugs” and attempts to “support and comfort” people he met. |
| “I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear,” Mr. Biden said. “But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will.” | “I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear,” Mr. Biden said. “But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will.” |
| [Who is Lucy Flores? A look at her career in politics and social justice activism.] | [Who is Lucy Flores? A look at her career in politics and social justice activism.] |
| Mr. Biden, who is expected to announce in April whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field, issued his statement two days after an essay by Ms. Flores was published on Friday in New York Magazine’s The Cut. Ms. Flores, a Democrat, said she was 35 at the time of her encounter with Mr. Biden, who was then vice president. | Mr. Biden, who is expected to announce in April whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field, issued his statement two days after an essay by Ms. Flores was published on Friday in New York Magazine’s The Cut. Ms. Flores, a Democrat, said she was 35 at the time of her encounter with Mr. Biden, who was then vice president. |
| Mr. Biden, she wrote, had come to a rally to help her fledgling campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada and had come up behind her, touched her and planted “a big slow kiss” on the back of her head. | Mr. Biden, she wrote, had come to a rally to help her fledgling campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada and had come up behind her, touched her and planted “a big slow kiss” on the back of her head. |
| Ms. Flores, responding on Sunday morning to Mr. Biden’s statement, said she was glad the former vice president was willing to listen and clarify his intentions. But she said she found it hard to believe that Mr. Biden could not have been aware of how he made her and other women feel, saying there was “a little bit of a disconnect.” | Ms. Flores, responding on Sunday morning to Mr. Biden’s statement, said she was glad the former vice president was willing to listen and clarify his intentions. But she said she found it hard to believe that Mr. Biden could not have been aware of how he made her and other women feel, saying there was “a little bit of a disconnect.” |
| “It is completely inappropriate,” Ms. Flores said on CNN about Mr. Biden’s behavior with women. “And this is something that we should consider when we’re talking about the background of a person who is considering running for president.” | |
| “For me it’s disqualifying,” she added. “I think it’s up to everybody else to make that decision.” | “For me it’s disqualifying,” she added. “I think it’s up to everybody else to make that decision.” |
| The allegations by Ms. Flores, and a statement on Saturday from a Biden spokesman and the new one on Sunday from Mr. Biden himself, represent a high-profile convergence of politics and the evolving societal norms of behavior and accountability in the #MeToo era, playing out against the backdrop of a presidential primary in which Mr. Biden — though not yet declared — is leading in several early polls. | The allegations by Ms. Flores, and a statement on Saturday from a Biden spokesman and the new one on Sunday from Mr. Biden himself, represent a high-profile convergence of politics and the evolving societal norms of behavior and accountability in the #MeToo era, playing out against the backdrop of a presidential primary in which Mr. Biden — though not yet declared — is leading in several early polls. |
| Democratic presidential candidates weighed in on Sunday morning, indicating that they believed Ms. Flores’s allegations but remaining circumspect about the potential political fallout for Mr. Biden. | Democratic presidential candidates weighed in on Sunday morning, indicating that they believed Ms. Flores’s allegations but remaining circumspect about the potential political fallout for Mr. Biden. |
| “I have no reason not to believe Lucy,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Asked if allegations should disqualify Mr. Biden from running for president, Mr. Sanders said: “I think that’s a decision for the vice president to make. I’m not sure that one incident alone disqualifies anybody.” | |
| Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, stepped delicately around questions about Mr. Biden during an interview on the ABC program “This Week.” | Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, stepped delicately around questions about Mr. Biden during an interview on the ABC program “This Week.” |
| “We know from campaigns and from politics that people raise issues and they have to address them, and that’s what he will have to do with the voters if he gets into the race,” Ms. Klobuchar said, while adding that she has “no reason not to believe” Ms. Flores. | “We know from campaigns and from politics that people raise issues and they have to address them, and that’s what he will have to do with the voters if he gets into the race,” Ms. Klobuchar said, while adding that she has “no reason not to believe” Ms. Flores. |
| Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” “Certainly one allegation is not disqualifying, but it should be taken seriously.” | |
| Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to President Trump, said on “Fox News Sunday”: “I think Joe Biden has a big problem because he calls it affection and handshakes. His party calls it completely inappropriate.” | |
| Political pressure began to mount on Mr. Biden on Saturday as Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is also a 2020 candidate, said in Iowa that she believed Ms. Flores and called on the former vice president to respond to the allegations. It was a rare instance, this early in the Democratic primary race, of one candidate calling out a potential rival to account for personal behavior. | Political pressure began to mount on Mr. Biden on Saturday as Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is also a 2020 candidate, said in Iowa that she believed Ms. Flores and called on the former vice president to respond to the allegations. It was a rare instance, this early in the Democratic primary race, of one candidate calling out a potential rival to account for personal behavior. |
| Julián Castro, another candidate for the Democratic nomination, was also in Iowa on Saturday and, like Ms. Warren, said he believed Ms. Flores. As for whether Mr. Biden’s behavior should disqualify him from the race, Mr. Castro said: “He’s going to decide whether he’s going to run or not, and then the American people, if he does, will decide whether they support him or not.” | Julián Castro, another candidate for the Democratic nomination, was also in Iowa on Saturday and, like Ms. Warren, said he believed Ms. Flores. As for whether Mr. Biden’s behavior should disqualify him from the race, Mr. Castro said: “He’s going to decide whether he’s going to run or not, and then the American people, if he does, will decide whether they support him or not.” |
| In a telephone interview on Saturday, Ms. Flores, who was attending Beto O’Rourke’s kickoff campaign rally in El Paso, said she expected Mr. Biden, and some of the public, to minimize the interaction. (Ms. Flores has said she has not yet endorsed any candidate for president and has argued that even if and when she does, her endorsement would not “erase” Mr. Biden’s “inappropriate behavior.”) | In a telephone interview on Saturday, Ms. Flores, who was attending Beto O’Rourke’s kickoff campaign rally in El Paso, said she expected Mr. Biden, and some of the public, to minimize the interaction. (Ms. Flores has said she has not yet endorsed any candidate for president and has argued that even if and when she does, her endorsement would not “erase” Mr. Biden’s “inappropriate behavior.”) |
| “We don’t have a system in any way, shape or form right now in politics where women and victims can speak out and can have their voices heard and can bring some accountability to people who are misbehaving and people who have done bad things,” she said. | “We don’t have a system in any way, shape or form right now in politics where women and victims can speak out and can have their voices heard and can bring some accountability to people who are misbehaving and people who have done bad things,” she said. |
| Ms. Flores also said she wanted to clarify that the interaction with Mr. Biden she described was not out in the open, a point she said might have been initially misunderstood. | Ms. Flores also said she wanted to clarify that the interaction with Mr. Biden she described was not out in the open, a point she said might have been initially misunderstood. |
| “It was private because we were on the side of the stage behind curtains where the audience cannot see, behind the stage,’’ she said. “There wasn’t a ton of people around.” | “It was private because we were on the side of the stage behind curtains where the audience cannot see, behind the stage,’’ she said. “There wasn’t a ton of people around.” |
| If staff members were present, she added, they were likely running around. | If staff members were present, she added, they were likely running around. |
| On Saturday night, Henry R. Munoz III, the organizer of the 2014 rally and co-founder of the Latino Victory Project, issued a statement saying there did not appear to be any evidence that Ms. Flores and Mr. Biden were ever alone together at the event. Mr. Munoz said the two waited in different holding rooms, then were briefly together offstage “surrounded by security, medical and production staff.’’ | On Saturday night, Henry R. Munoz III, the organizer of the 2014 rally and co-founder of the Latino Victory Project, issued a statement saying there did not appear to be any evidence that Ms. Flores and Mr. Biden were ever alone together at the event. Mr. Munoz said the two waited in different holding rooms, then were briefly together offstage “surrounded by security, medical and production staff.’’ |
| Mr. Munoz said he had reviewed photographic documentation and talked to staff members and attendees, and had concluded that he and his organization “do not believe that circumstances support allegations that such an event took place.” | Mr. Munoz said he had reviewed photographic documentation and talked to staff members and attendees, and had concluded that he and his organization “do not believe that circumstances support allegations that such an event took place.” |
| [Sign up for our politics newsletter. Lisa Lerer will be your guide through the 2020 race and share what you really need to know.] | [Sign up for our politics newsletter. Lisa Lerer will be your guide through the 2020 race and share what you really need to know.] |
| In her CNN interview on Sunday, Ms. Flores called Mr. Munoz’s statement “entirely irrelevant” because its premise was that she and Mr. Biden were never alone, a claim Ms. Flores said she never made. | In her CNN interview on Sunday, Ms. Flores called Mr. Munoz’s statement “entirely irrelevant” because its premise was that she and Mr. Biden were never alone, a claim Ms. Flores said she never made. |
| After her piece published Friday, she said she had been “prepared for the worst.” But she said she has been surprised by the amount of positive feedback and support she has received. | After her piece published Friday, she said she had been “prepared for the worst.” But she said she has been surprised by the amount of positive feedback and support she has received. |
| Mr. Biden has long been criticized for his handling of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991, when he led a panel of white men in aggressively questioning Anita Hill, who is African-American. On Tuesday, he expressed regret for his role in the hearing, saying, “To this day, I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved.” | Mr. Biden has long been criticized for his handling of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991, when he led a panel of white men in aggressively questioning Anita Hill, who is African-American. On Tuesday, he expressed regret for his role in the hearing, saying, “To this day, I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved.” |
| As Ms. Flores noted in her essay, Mr. Biden has also faced scrutiny over the years for pictures and videos that have shown him standing close to women and sometimes touching them on the shoulders, whispering in their ears and even giving kisses. | As Ms. Flores noted in her essay, Mr. Biden has also faced scrutiny over the years for pictures and videos that have shown him standing close to women and sometimes touching them on the shoulders, whispering in their ears and even giving kisses. |
| In her essay, Ms. Flores said that as those pictures surfaced, her anger and resentment grew. She said that in 2014, Mr. Biden was “the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world.” | In her essay, Ms. Flores said that as those pictures surfaced, her anger and resentment grew. She said that in 2014, Mr. Biden was “the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world.” |
| “He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,” she wrote. “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.” | “He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,” she wrote. “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.” |
| She also wrote that she had carefully considered whether to speak out, but said that “hearing Biden’s potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.” | She also wrote that she had carefully considered whether to speak out, but said that “hearing Biden’s potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.” |
| Ms. Flores has embraced the role of social justice advocate, speaking out about sexism and harassment in politics in recent years. She gave support to Masha Mendieta, a woman on Mr. Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign who said she was mistreated. And in a 2017 interview with Nevada Public Radio, she said it was “wonderful” that “we are having this conversation about what is the difference between sexism, what is the difference between sexual harassment, what’s the difference between sexual assault.” | Ms. Flores has embraced the role of social justice advocate, speaking out about sexism and harassment in politics in recent years. She gave support to Masha Mendieta, a woman on Mr. Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign who said she was mistreated. And in a 2017 interview with Nevada Public Radio, she said it was “wonderful” that “we are having this conversation about what is the difference between sexism, what is the difference between sexual harassment, what’s the difference between sexual assault.” |