OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Correction Notice: This article previously stated that Kamala Harris said she believes Biden’s “rape accusers.” Following a fact-check from LeadStories as well as a correction in The Federalist, there is a distinction drawn between accusations of “sexual assault” and “rape” compared to accusations of “unwanted touching.” We have issued a correction notice to clarify this issue and we regret this mistake.
According to The Hill as well as The Federalist and several other outlets, Kamala Harris said last year that she believes the women who accused Biden of unwanted touching that made them feel uncomfortable.
“I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it,” Harris said in 2019.
Several women have accused Biden of unwanted touching, which includes Amy Lappos, Caitlyn Caruso, D. J. Hill, and former Democratic state lawmaker Lucy Flores.
Flores wrote a story in “The Cut” about how Biden put his hands on her shoulders, smelled her hair from behind, and “proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head.”
Harris has been criticized as a hypocrite for supporting Biden over Reade, given her past criticisms of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
From The Hill:
The California senator added that Biden will need to decide for himself whether to run for president.
“He’s going to have to make that decision for himself. I wouldn’t tell him what to do,” Harris said.
In recent days, several women have come forward to allege that Biden has touched them inappropriately.
Former Nevada state lawmaker Lucy Flores, a Democrat, made the first accusation last week in an essay in New York magazine’s The Cut. On Monday, Amy Lappos told the Hartford Courant that Biden also touched her inappropriately at a 2009 fundraiser in Connecticut.
Two additional women, Caitlyn Caruso and D. J. Hill, came forward Tuesday, sharing their experiences with The New York Times.
Biden, who is considering running for president and has led a number of polls of Democrats, has not commented publicly on the accusations since Sunday, when in response to Flores’s allegation he said in a statement that he has “offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort.”
“And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately,” Biden added. “If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully.”
Lappos alleged that Biden “put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me…I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth.”
Caruso added that Biden put his hand on her thigh and hugged her “just a bit too long.”
The Hill reported that Biden moved his hand down Caruso’s back during a photo op.
Tara Reade also made headlines for accusing Biden of sexually assaulting her while she worked in his U.S. Senate office in 1993.
