House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that she does not regard allegations of misconduct made by two women against former vice president Joe Biden as disqualifying him from a run for president in 2020.
“No. No, I do not,” Pelosi told reporters. “I don’t think that this disqualifies him from being president. Not at all.”
The California Democrat declined to comment on whether she thinks the accusations would hamper Biden’s campaign.
Former Nevada state assemblywoman Lucy Flores claimed Friday that Biden held her shoulders and kissed the back of her head at a 2014 rally during her campaign for lieutenant governor. On Monday, Amy Lappos, a former aide to Democratic representative Jim Himes, went public with a complaint that Biden had rubbed noses with her at a 2009 fundraiser in Greenwich, Conn.
Biden has denied acting inappropriately on purpose, saying that, “If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention.”
He has offered “countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support. and comfort” to women over the years, he said.
“I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear. But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday.
“I will also remain the strongest advocate I can be for the rights of women,” he added. “I will fight to build on the work I’ve done in my career to end violence against women and ensure women are treated with the equality they deserve. I will continue to surround myself with trusted women advisers who challenge me to see different perspectives than my own. And I will continue to speak out on these vitally important issues where there is much more progress to be made and crucial fights that must be waged and won.”