Former Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, now a Social Justice Activist, revealed that Vice President Joe Biden was “creepy” with her during a campaign event.
She said in an essay for The Cut that the incident occurred during her campaign for lieutenant governor in Nevada in 2014, when Biden came to the state to help the campaign.
But before the campaign rally, he touched her in a way that she felt was inappropriate:
I was taking deep breaths and preparing myself to make my case to the crowd, I felt two hands on my shoulders. I froze. “Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?” I felt him get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified. I thought to myself, “I didn’t wash my hair today and the vice-president of the United States is smelling it. And also, what in the actual fuck? Why is the vice-president of the United States smelling my hair?” He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused. There is a Spanish saying, “tragame tierra,” it means, “earth, swallow me whole.” I couldn’t move and I couldn’t say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me. My name was called and I was never happier to get on stage in front of an audience.
Flores said that pictures of Biden touching other women inappropriately made it more difficult to keep silent, referring to Biden nuzzling the neck of Secretary of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s wife, kissing Sen. Chuck Grassley’s wife on the lips, whispering in women’s ears, and snuggling women on the campaign trail.
“I may have been able to give Biden the benefit of the doubt. Had there not been multiple articles written over the years about the exact same thing — calling his creepy behavior an ‘open secret’ — perhaps it would feel less offensive,” she wrote. “And yet despite the steady stream of pictures and the occasional article, Biden retained his title of America’s Favorite Uncle.”
Biden has earned some negative attention for his past behavior, including mockery from Jon Stewart in a 2015 Daily Show segment.
“Apparently, the Senate rite of passage is you’re not really sworn in until ‘Delaware Joe’ has felt up one member of your immediate family,” Stewart joked.
Flores said that she felt that it was important for her to speak out, as Biden was considering a run for president in 2020.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.