Will Biden fall prey to the #MeToo Movement?
WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Joe Biden recently apologized after several women accused him of not respecting their personal space.
Biden, 76, said in a video released Wednesday: “The boundaries of respecting personal space have been reset. And I get it. I get it. I hear what they’re saying. I understand it. And I’ll be much more mindful. That’s my responsibility.”
Biden has hinted that he is strongly considering running for president in 2020 and most polls have shown that he is clear favorite of Democratic primary voters.
But how might the accusations, which stem from interactions said to have occurred years ago, affect Biden’s campaign? Might his apology suffice as redemption?
TMN spoke with three Democratic senators and asked their thoughts.
“He’s (Biden) answered that in his statements and his video…let the campaigns go on,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said.
When pressed further, Van Hollen said: “(Biden) has said it best and I’m gonna leave it to his own statements.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) said if Biden decides to run his fate will be left to the voters.
“The (former) vice president will have to answer that question about whether he’s going to run or not, and then the voters will decide,” she said.
When asked if the length of time between the alleged interactions and the accusations matters, Shaheen demurred, saying: “I think it helps contribute to the national conversation we’re having about how we address this issue.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) said he had heard about Biden’s apology but had not yet seen the video.
Leahy then relayed a story about a personal interaction shared between his mother and the former vice president.
“I know how excited my mother was when he (Biden) gave her a hug. She said: ‘What a nice young man.'”
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.