Former Vice President and suspected running candidate for the 2020 presidential race, Joe Biden, is under fire for the way he inappropriately touched women or behaved around them. In two different incidents we've seen circulating the news, it shows Joe Biden in the past either placing his hands on women or kissing them on the head resulting in them feeling uncomfortable. The most telling picture that is grabbing national attention is a picture of Joe Biden appearing to be comforting Stephanie Carter at the White House while her husband Ash Carter was being sworn in as Secretary of Defense. Now Carter and her husband spoke out defending Biden, saying it was not interpreted by them as inappropriate.
Another woman, Lucy Flores, a Nevada Assemblywoman who was a former candidate for Lieutenant Governor, came forward over the past week about her experience with the former Vice President. She claims he made her uncomfortable at a rally in 2014 where he came up behind her, put his hands on her shoulder, smelled her hair, and kissed her on the head. She told the Los Angeles Times about the incident: “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.”
Flores went on to clarify that while she though that Biden's behavior was inappropriate and that her space was invaded, she does not believe that he sexually assaulted her or anything.
This does seem like some sort of political take down of Biden based on the fact that he is assumed to be running for president in 2020. Biden has stated that he does not believe he has acted inappropriately in the past but if it is interpreted as if he did, he says he will "listen respectfully".
Do you think Joe Biden acted inappropriately? It's one thing to put your hands on someone's shoulders or pat them on the back or give them a hug, but to kiss them on the head or neck? I think that's weird. Now, do I think he should be jailed and prevented from running for president, no. I just think we need to admit that his behavior is a bit weird and acknowledge it's a bit inappropriate. Maybe we are making a big deal out of it but as the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. I also think it depends on the woman or person and her comfort level because you don't know what she's been through in the past. One of these woman could be a victim of sexual assault in the past and maybe does not like being touched in a way that reminds her of a previous time. I understand some people are not going to agree with me on this but there is line of how far you should physically interact with someone I think kissing should be reserved for family & friends because you don't know that person's comfort levels. It's insensitive of you to assume someone wants to be touched just because that's "your thing" and how you show affection. Kissing is not a casual greeting. A kiss on the head or neck is absolutely an intimate, affectionate expression that should be reserved for a spouse or someone in your immediate family like a child. What do you think?
-Producer Lightning