Joe Biden responds to allegation of unwanted touching and ‘big slow kiss’
- Lucy Flores said Joe Biden smelled her hair and kissed the back of her head at a 2014 event, when she was running for state lieutenant governor
- Biden, who is a favourite to win the Democrat nomination to take on Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, released a statement trying to quell the storm
Former US vice-president Joe Biden defended himself on Sunday after a Nevada Democrat accused him of unwanted touching and kissing in 2014, saying in a statement that he does not believe he has ever acted inappropriately.
Lucy Flores, a former assemblywoman who was Nevada’s 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said Friday in an essay published by the Cut that Biden touched and kissed her without her consent before a rally to support her campaign.
She said the experience mortified, embarrassed and confused her.
Biden is expected to announce soon whether he will pursue a 2020 presidential bid.
On Sunday, he said he had offered “countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort” during his years in public life, “and not once – never – did I believe I acted inappropriately”.
“If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention,” Biden said in a statement.