“I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” he told reporters about his hugs and kisses to women over the years. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I’ve never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman.”
Speaking at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Washington, the former vice president used his first public remarks since the complaints emerged to try to push past the weeklong controversy that has overshadowed his expected presidential campaign.
In his address, he largely stuck to his long-running political themes, highlighting the importance of uniting a divided nation and restoring the “great American middle class” — save for two notable asides.
As he took the stage, he hugged Lonnie R. Stephenson, the union’s president. “I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie,” he said, and the largely male crowd burst into laughter.
Several minutes into his remarks, Biden spotted children in the audience. After welcoming them to the stage, Biden wrapped his arm around a young boy. “By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” he said, to laughter.
But Biden acknowledged that his physically intimate style of campaigning would have to change — a shift he compared to his efforts to adjust to the practice of snapping selfies with voters.
“It’s going to have to change somewhat how I campaign,” he said. “It’s a new thing. It’s important, and I’m sure it’s going to take a while for it to settle out. But it’s settled out for me.”
But the public joking by Biden struck a nerve among some of the women who had expressed discomfort with their interactions.
“Biden’s consent joke is a clear indication Biden doesn’t get it and doesn’t take the voice of the women who have come forward seriously,” said Amy Lappos, who told the The Hartford Courant that Biden crossed “a line of respect” in their 2009 encounter at a fundraiser in Connecticut.
Others praised Biden’s remarks as an indication that he was listening to criticism of his behavior and trying to change.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.