Former Vice President Joe Biden appeared flustered after a woman supporter in the crowd interrupted his campaign speech to tell him that he could “hug and kiss me anytime” on Tuesday.
Biden immediately looked down at the podium and coughed and crossed himself as the crowd laughed and cheered.
“That’s very nice, thank you,” he added and chuckled.
Prior to announcing his run for president, Biden received several complaints from women who said he touched them inappropriately, making them feel uncomfortable. Biden has demonstrated more discipline about his physical contact with women in public since announcing his presidential campaign.
In Nevada, Biden immediately shifted his campaign speech to “a serious note,” speaking about the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at a country music concert where a gunman killed 58 people.
“The fact is that it’s hard to not to think about what happened on October 1st that day, you know all the lives that were lost, all the families that were forever changed, created by senseless gun violence,” he said, predicting an upcoming policy proposal on “rational” gun control.