Several Democratic candidates running in the 2020 presidential election voiced their opinions over the weekend about the allegations regarding Joe Biden. Apparently, a former political candidate from Nevada has claimed that former Vice President Joe Biden kissed her on the back of her head in 2014.
According to ABC’s This Week, Sen. Amy Klobuchar has stated that there’s no reason not to believe the woman, whose name is Lucky Flores. Flores claims that she was kissed on the back of the head by Biden while at a campaign rally in 2014 for her bid to become lieutenant governor. “I have no reason not to believe her. I think we know from campaigns and 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,” stated Klobuchar.
Flores made her claims in a piece that she wrote for a New York magazine. In the article, she accused Biden of walking up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, sniffing her hair, and kissing her on the back of her head. “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,” wrote Flores.
During an interview with CNN’s State of the Union, Flores stated that while she’s happy that Biden has spoken about the claims, she wants Biden to “acknowledge that he was wrong.” Flores stated: “If he is saying he never believed that was inappropriate, then frankly I believe that’s a little bit of a disconnection. And … a sense of not being aware. I want him to change his behavior and I want him to acknowledge that it was wrong.”
The former vice president, who is expected to announce his bid in the 2020 president election very soon, has denied ever behaving inappropriately towards Flores. In a statement released by Biden on Sunday, he said: “In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort, 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.”
“I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear. 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,” Biden added.
In an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders stated that while there’s no reason for him not to believe Flores, he also doesn’t believe that Biden should be disqualified from running for president based on “one incident alone.” Sanders also said: “That’s a decision for the vice president to make. I’m not sure that one incident alone disqualifies anybody.”
While on NBC’s Meet the Press, the former governor of Colorado and presidential candidate, John Hickenlooper, called these claims against Biden “very disconcerting.” Hickenlooper said: “Certainly, I think it’s very disconcerting and I think that women have to be heard and we should start by believing them.”
He continued by saying: “I think the more important issue to recognize is that we’re at an inflection point, really a moment of transformation of the entire country where women, in many cases for the first time, are having the courage to come forward and speak about things that happened to them that make them intensely uncomfortable.”
While speaking to reporters in Iowa, two other candidates running for president, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, stated that they believe Flores. They also both believe that it’s up to Biden on whether or not he will join the 2020 race for the presidency.
