Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Diplomacy or Submission? The Zionist Grip on US Political Power and Trump’s Uneasy Alliance With Netanyahu

2 days ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

3 days ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

3 days ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

3 days ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

3 days ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

3 days ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

3 days ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

3 days ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

3 days ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

3 days ago
Pelosi's Advice for Biden: Stop Being Touchy-Feely With Women
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 2, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — As former Vice President Joe Biden’s camp scrambles to contain any political damage over his past behavior with women, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has some words of advice: Keep your distance.
“Join the straight-arm club,” Pelosi told a breakfast hour Washington event on Tuesday.

“[Biden] has to understand that in the world we are in now people’s space is important to them and what’s important is how they receive it, not necessarily how you intended it.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
In other words, keep your handshakes at arms’ length and don’t be touchy-feely.
“Just pretend you have a cold and I have a cold,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi, D-Calif., told the event, which was sponsored by Politico, that Biden “has to understand that in the world we are in now people’s space is important to them and what’s important is how they receive it, not necessarily how you intended it.”
Her remarks came as Biden’s aides are striking a more aggressive tone as he considers running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and faces scrutiny over his past behavior toward women.
In a statement on Monday, Biden spokesman Bill Russo blasted “right wing trolls” from “the dark recesses of the internet” for conflating images of Biden embracing acquaintances, colleagues and friends in his official capacity during swearing-in ceremonies with uninvited touching.

Lappos Was Stunned as Biden Moved Toward Her

Two women have said Biden touched them inappropriately in the past. Amy Lappos, a former aide to Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said Monday that Biden touched her face with both hands and rubbed noses in 2009. Former Nevada politician Lucy Flores penned a magazine essay last week in which she wrote that Biden kissed her on the back of the head in 2014.

“He wrapped both his hands around my face and pulled me in. I thought, ‘Oh, God, he’s going to kiss me.’ Instead, he rubbed noses with me.” — Amy Lappos, a former aide to Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut
The developments underscored the challenge facing Biden should he decide to seek the White House. Following historic wins in the 2018 midterms, Democratic politics is dominated by energy from women. The allegations could leave the 76-year-old Biden, long known for his affectionate mannerisms, appearing out of touch with the party as the Democratic presidential primary begins.
Lappos told The Associated Press that she and other Himes aides were helping out at a fundraiser in a private home in Hartford, Connecticut, in October 2009 when Biden entered the kitchen to thank the group for pitching in.
“After he finished speaking, he stopped to talk to us about how important a congressional staff is, which I thought was awesome,” Lappos said.
She said she was stunned as Biden moved toward her.
“He wrapped both his hands around my face and pulled me in,” said Lappos, who is now 43. “I thought, ‘Oh, God, he’s going to kiss me.’ Instead, he rubbed noses with me.”
Biden said nothing, she said, then moved off.

Democratic Rivals Haven’t Rushed to Back Him Up

She said the experience left her feeling “weird and uncomfortable” and was “absolutely disrespectful of my personal boundaries.”
The Hartford Courant first reported Lappos’ assertion.
Russo, Biden’s spokesman, didn’t directly respond to Lappos, instead referring to a Sunday statement in which Biden said he doesn’t believe he has acted inappropriately during his long public life. The former vice president said in that statement: “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.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to a Democratic Caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Pelosi and leading House Democrats are unveiling broad legislation today to shore up the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Biden hasn’t made a final decision on whether to run for the White House. But aides who weren’t authorized to discuss internal conversations and spoke on the condition of anonymity said there were no signs that his team was slowing its preparations for a campaign.
“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.” — Former Vice President Joe Biden
Asked on Monday by the AP about the accusations against Biden, Pelosi said, “I don’t think that this disqualifies him from running for president, not at all.”
Biden’s potential Democratic rivals haven’t rushed to back him up. Over the weekend, presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand came closest to calling out the former vice president. Warren, a Massachusetts senator, said Biden “needs to give an answer” about what occurred. Gillibrand, a New York senator, said, “If Vice President Biden becomes a candidate, this is a topic he’ll have to engage on further.”
Ultraviolet, a women’s advocacy group, tweeted: “Joe Biden cannot paint himself as a champion of women and then refuse to listen and learn from a woman who says his actions demeaned her. Good intentions don’t matter if the actions are inappropriate. Do better, Joe. And thank you @LucyFlores for coming forward.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens to Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US Citizenship

DON'T MISS

Trump Intensifies Trade War With Threat of 30% Tariffs on EU, Mexico

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

DON'T MISS

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

DON'T MISS

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

DON'T MISS

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

DON'T MISS

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

DON'T MISS

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

UP NEXT

State Department Starts Firing More Than 1,350 Workers

UP NEXT

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

UP NEXT

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

UP NEXT

FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say

UP NEXT

US Sanctions UN Expert Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza

UP NEXT

US Emergency Agency FEMA Should Be ‘Eliminated as It Exists Today,’ Noem Says

UP NEXT

Death Toll Reaches at Least 119 in Texas Floods, With 173 Missing

UP NEXT

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

UP NEXT

TSA Set to Let Airport Travelers Keep Their Shoes on, Media Reports Say

UP NEXT

Space Industry Urges Congress Not to Axe System That Prevents Satellite Collisions

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

1 day ago

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

1 day ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

1 day ago

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

1 day ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

1 day ago

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

2 days ago

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

2 days ago

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

2 days ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

2 days ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

2 days ago

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

Online spending soared $24.1 billion across U.S. retailers during the stretch from July 8 to 11 – dubbed “Black Friday in Summer”...

1 day ago

Packages are transported on a conveyor belt at the Amazon warehouse on Prime Day, in Melville, New York, U.S., July 11, 2023. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

Presenter Rosie O'Donnell speaks on stage about Madonna during the 30th annual GLAAD awards ceremony in New York City, New York, U.S., May 4, 2019. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump Threatens to Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US Citizenship

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to the U.S. flag flying on a new flagpole after stepping off Marine One returning from New Jersey at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
1 day ago

Trump Intensifies Trade War With Threat of 30% Tariffs on EU, Mexico

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference to discuss the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s "National Farm Security Action Plan", outside the USDA in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

1 day ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

A Palestinian man from the Katoo family, with his son, mourns beside the body of his other son, who was killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid near a distribution point in Rafah, according to medics, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
1 day ago

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

After losing both of his owners, a 5-year-old cattle dog named Ozzy found a second chance at happiness thanks to a local rescue group and a loving foster home. (Mell's Mutts)
1 day ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend