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Joe Biden Accused of Touching and Kissing Nevada Democrat at 2014 Rally Joe Biden Says He Did Not Act Inappropriately with Lucy Flores
(about 8 hours later)
A former Nevada state assemblywoman has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of touching and kissing her at a 2014 campaign event for Democrats in what she called a mortifying episode that left her feeling “powerless to do anything about it.” 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 an essay published on Friday by New York Magazine’s The Cut, the former assemblywoman, Lucy 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 agreed to come to a rally to help her fledgling campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada. In his statement, he emphasized that “not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately” but pledged to listen to those who have accused him of doing so. 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.
Ms. Flores wrote that at first, she had been “grateful and flattered.” But as she was preparing to take the stage, she said, she “felt two hands on my shoulders” and “froze.” “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.”
“Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?” she recalled wondering. 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.
“I felt him get closer to me from behind,” she continued. “He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified.” 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.
Then, she added: “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.” 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.”
A spokesman for Mr. Biden said on Saturday that neither the former vice president nor his staff recalled what Ms. Flores described, and that she had not appeared uncomfortable with him at the time of the event. “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.”
Ms. Flores’s allegations come as Mr. Biden is poised to announce whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field and seek the White House; at public appearances and through aides Mr. Biden has signaled he is likely to enter the race. “For me it’s disqualifying,” she added. “I think it’s up to everybody else to make that decision.”
Reached by phone 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.”) Politicians on both the left and the right also weighed in Sunday morning. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota and a presidential candidate, 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.
And 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.”
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.”
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Bill Russo, the spokesman for Mr. Biden, said in a statement earlier Saturday that the former vice president had been “pleased to support Lucy Flores’s candidacy for lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event.” 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.
“Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes,” the statement said. “But Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.”
Addressing Mr. Biden’s statement, Ms. Flores said: “My reaction to his response is he definitely could have done a lot more to acknowledge how his behavior might have made me and the other women he has done that to feel.”
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.
Indeed, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — one of Mr. Biden’s competitors for the Democratic nomination should he enter the race — offered supportive words for Ms. Flores during a campaign swing in Iowa on Saturday. Asked about Ms. Flores’s essay, Ms. Warren told reporters that she had read it and called on Mr. Biden to respond directly to it.Indeed, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — one of Mr. Biden’s competitors for the Democratic nomination should he enter the race — offered supportive words for Ms. Flores during a campaign swing in Iowa on Saturday. Asked about Ms. Flores’s essay, Ms. Warren told reporters that she had read it and called on Mr. Biden to respond directly to it.
“I believe Lucy Flores, and Joe Biden needs to give an answer,” she said. Pressed on whether Mr. Biden should opt against running in the primary, Ms. Warren said it was for him to decide.“I believe Lucy Flores, and Joe Biden needs to give an answer,” she said. Pressed on whether Mr. Biden should opt against running in the primary, Ms. Warren said it was for him to decide.
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 Senator Bernie 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 Senator Bernie 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.”