JOE BIDEN IN 2018: ‘NOTHING JUSTIFIES’ TOUCHING A WOMAN ‘WITHOUT HER CONSENT’
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently under fire for his reported habit of touching women without their consent, said in 2018 that there is no justification for touching women without their consent.
Four women have come forward to say Biden made them uncomfortable by invading their personal space, including grabbing their shoulders and smelling their hair.
“Nothing justifies a man laying a hand on a woman without her consent. Look, you need consent,” Biden said in an April 2018 video interview with feminist media outlet Makers.
He offered several examples of out-of-bounds behavior, ranging from rape to unwanted touching.
“If the woman is totally drunk and inebriated, she can’t give consent, it’s rape. It’s rape if you cannot give consent. It is assault. A woman could get up and walk down the street here stark naked, no man has a right to lay a hand on her,” Biden said.
“There is no justification. She can be arrested for indecent exposure, but no man has a right to lay their hand on [her],” he added. (RELATED: Top DNC Official Says He Doesn’t Believe Biden Accuser)
U.S Vice President Joe Biden (R) hugs Madeleine Smith (L), a graduate of Harvard University who was raped while attending college, after Smith spoke during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building April 29, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Biden pledged Wednesday to be more careful about respecting “personal space” in a video he posted to Twitter.
“Social norms are changing,” Biden said in the video.
“I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it.”
Biden did not include an apology in the video.
Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it.
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