The 15-second meme, accompanied by the text “WELCOME BACK JOE!,” doctored a video that Biden released Wednesday in which the former vice president explained his history of physical contact with women, some of whom say his behavior made them uncomfortable. Biden has said he tried to comfort people with hugs, kisses and other physical contact when they appeared nervous.
In the meme, as Biden delivers his explanation, a pair of hands appears on his shoulders, and then an image of Biden’s head pops up and appears to sniff the back of the former vice president’s head. The meme appeared to be a reference to an accusation by a former Nevada assemblywoman, who said in an essay published last Friday that Biden had touched her shoulders, smelled her hair and kissed the back of her head at a campaign event in 2014.
Biden is widely expected to join the 2020 presidential race soon, and some Democrats view him as perhaps the most formidable challenger to Trump. But in the last week, accusations from several women that Biden touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable have threatened to upend his fledgling campaign, and on Wednesday, he addressed the claims directly for the first time in a video posted to his Twitter feed.
Trump’s supporters have seized on the accusations against Biden, viewing them as an early opening to attack a potential Democratic candidate they already view as perhaps strongest adversary. On Tuesday, a pro-Trump group, the Great America PAC, released a “Creepy Joe” Biden ad. Trump himself has also already weighed in on the allegations: Joking on Tuesday night about asking for a kiss, Trump said, “I felt like Joe Biden.”
This is not the first time the president has used a doctored video to taunt an adversary. In July 2017 he posted a clip on his Twitter account that showed him wrestling with and punching a figure whose head had been replaced by the logo of CNN, the cable news network he has regularly attacked.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.