The former vice president and possible 2020 presidential hopeful, Joe Biden, has faced recent allegations of inappropriate touch. He issued an apology of sorts and denied all allegations against him.
He’s also making jokes about consent.
Yes, really.
In his first public comments since the most recent allegations, Biden decided to begin a speech on Friday morning by joking about consent.
Oh, Joe.
On Friday morning, Biden spoke on stage at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ conference in Washington, DC. While there, he hugged Lonnie Stephenson, the union’s president.
Here’s the clip:
“I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie,” he joked. The audience, which was mostly male, cracked up and applauded.
The joke continued when Biden invited children onto the stage. He shook their hands as they appeared. He then put his arm around one young boy’s shoulder.
Here’s the clip:
“By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” he cracked. The same crowd laughed and applauded, for some reason.
"I wasn't joking, the president of the union put his arms around me, that's how it's always been," he explained to reporters after he finished the speech. "That's how people react."
Reporters pressed him on whether or not he feels he should apologize directly to any of the women who have made allegations against him, he said, "I made it clear that if I made anyone feel uncomfortable, I feel badly about that. It was never my intention, ever, ever."
Then continued: "I'm sorry I didn't understand more. I'm not sorry for any of my intentions, I'm not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I've never been disrespectful intentionally, to a man or a woman."
This is his “apology” video from a few days ago:
Here’s an idea: Don’t touch people without permission. Just don’t!