Biden also issued a sweeping statement acknowledging that he had shown “expressions of affection” to people during his years on the campaign trail, but said, “not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.” It was the second damage-control statement to come from his team since Flores made her allegation on Friday, and it was released minutes before she appeared on CNN and argued that Biden’s behavior with her at a 2014 campaign event was “disqualifying” for a presidential candidate.
Yet even as Biden defended himself, and his former staff members praised his conduct as a boss, some of the former vice president’s would-be rivals in the 2020 Democratic field and some allies said that Flores’ claim should be taken seriously.
“I have no reason not to believe Lucy,” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Biden’s advisers indicated on Sunday that the accusation would not dissuade him from entering the 2020 campaign, which they suggest he still intends to do at the end of April or just after. But Flores’ claim, and Biden’s attempt to rebut her story without dismissing it — or her — offered a vivid illustration of the #MeToo-era challenges that await a 76-year-old political veteran known for his close physical contact with women, including hugging, kissing and touching them.
Biden only issued a statement through his aides rather than grant interviews. “We have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention,” Biden said.
And, he vowed, “I will.”
In her CNN interview Sunday, Flores, 39, said she was glad the former vice president was willing to listen and clarify his intentions. But she said she found it hard to believe that Biden could not have been aware of how he made her and other women feel, saying there was “a little bit of a disconnect.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.