Pelosi gives Biden advice; Trump mocks former VP
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.
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.”
President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter Tuesday night with a little more sarcasm. “Welcome to the world, Joe,” Trump said at a fundraising dinner for Republican House races. “You having a good time, Joe?” Trump himself has denied multiple accusations of sexual misconduct on his part.
Musing on potential 2020 Democratic opponents, Trump said the only one who’s not a socialist is “being taken care of pretty well by the socialists.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”