Former Vice President Joe Biden broke his silence on the 'inappropriate touching' scandal, saying he 'tried to make a human connection' but 'will be more mindful and respectful of people's personal space.'
'Today I want to talk about gestures of support and encouragement that I've made to some women and some men and I've made them uncomfortable,' he said in a video posted on Twitter.
'I always try to be in my career, always tried to make a human connection. That's my responsibility, I think. I shake hands, I hug people. I grab men and women by the shoulders and say you can do this, whether they're women, men, young, old. It's the way I've always been and tried to show that I care about them and I'm listening. Over the years knowing I’ve been through, the things that I've faced, I found that scores, if not hundreds of people have come up to me and reached out for solace and comfort. Something, anything that may help them get through the tragedy they're going through. So it's just who I am,' Biden added.
But his two minute video did not contain an apology to the women who said they were made uncomfortable by his hugs and kisses.
Joe Biden broke his silence on the 'inappropriate touching' scandal
He said he’s never thought of politics as ‘cold and antiseptic.’
'Now, it is all about taking selfies together. Social norms begin to change and they've shifted and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been re-set and I get it. I get it. I hear what they're saying,' he said.
The former vice president vowed to be more 'mindful and respectful' going forward.
'I understand it. And I'll be much more mindful. That is my responsibility. My responsibility and I'll meet it. But I'll always believe governing, quite frankly, and life for that matter is about connecting, about connecting with people. That won't change. I will be more mindful and respectful of people's personal space and that is a good thing. That is a good thing,' he noted.
He concluded by addressing his history as an advocate for women.
'I worked my life empower women. I worked my whole life to prevent abuse. So the idea that I can’t adjust to the fact the personal space is important – more important than it’s ever been, is just not true. I will. I will,' he said.
Biden also indicated he intends to go forward with his plan to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
'In the coming months I'll be talking with you about a whole bunch of issues and I'll be direct with you,' he said at the beginning of the video.
He is expected to announce a bid this month.
In the coming month I expect to be talking to you about a whole lot of issues and I’ll always be direct with you but today I want to talk about gestures of support and encouragement that I have made to women and some men, and I've made them uncomfortable.
And I’m always trying to be, in my career, I have always tried to make a human connection. That’s my responsibility I think. I shake hands, I hug people, I grab men and women by the shoulders to say “You can do this.”
Whether they’re women, men, young, old, it’s the way I’ve always been and the way I’ve tried to show I care about them and I’m listening.
Over the years, knowing the things that I’ve been through and the things that I’ve faced I’ve found that scores, if not hundreds of people, come up to me, and reached out for solace and comfort, something, anything that may help them get through the tragedy they’re going through.
So, it’s just who I am.
And I’ve never thought of politics as a cold and antiseptic. I’ve always thought of it as about connecting people – as I’ve said, shaking hands, hands on the shoulder, a hug, encouragement.
And now, now, it’s all about taking selfies together.
You know social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset.
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 – my responsibility and I’ll meet it.
But I always believe, governing, quite frankly, life for that matter is about connecting, connecting with people.
That won’t change but I will be more mindful and respectful of people’s personal space and that’s a good thing – a good thing.
I’ve worked my whole life to empower women. I’ve worked my whole life to prevent abuse. I’ve written, err, err, and so the idea that I can’t adjust to the fact that personal space is important, more important than it’s ever been is just not there.
I will. I will.
His defense comes a day after President Donald Trump weighed in on the scandal.
'I was going to call him. I really don't know him well. I was going to say welcome to the world, Joe. You having a good time, Joe?,' Trump said at the National Republican Congressional Committee's Spring Dinner Tuesday night. 'Are you having a good time.'
It also comes after two more women came forward to say the former vice president made them physically uncomfortable.
Caitlyn Caruso, 22, said she met Biden at an event devoted to sexual assault at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, where she studied as an undergrad.
Caruso, who was 19 years old at the time, said that Biden placed his hand on her thigh while she squirmed in her seat to show how uncomfortable she was, according to The New York Times.
She said Biden then gave her a hug and held it ‘just a little bit too long.’
Caruso told the Times that she was startled at Biden’s behavior because she had just told the audience of her own experience as a sexual assault survivor.
Caitlyn Caruso (left), a survivor of sexual assault, says Joe Biden (right) placed his hand on her thigh and hugged her 'just a little bit too long' at an event at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas on April 7, 2016
She said she was also mindful of the fact that Biden was one of the authors of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
‘It doesn’t even really cross your mind that such a person would dare perpetuate harm like that,’ she said. ‘These are supposed to be people you can trust.’
The other alleged incident of inappropriate touching took place at a fundraiser in Minneapolis in 2012.
It was there that Biden met D.J. Hill, 59, a writer who attended the event with her husband.
At one point during the evening, Hill and her husband were posing with Biden for a photograph.
According to Hill, Biden put his hand on her shoulder and then began to run it down her back.
She told the Times that this made her ‘very uncomfortable.’
Hill said that her husband noticed Biden’s hand caressing his wife’s back. He then put his hand on Biden’s shoulder and told a joke so as to break up the moment.
Hill told the Times that she did not complain at the time. She says she does not know
