Two more women came forward to accuse former Vice President Joe Biden of awkward and unwarranted physical contact with the former vice president.
Caitlyn Caruso, 22, and D. J. Hill, 59, both told the New York Times about physical interactions they had with Biden that made them uncomfortable.
Caruso, a sexual assault survivor, said that during an event on sexual assault at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas when she was 19, Biden rested his hand on her thigh and persisted as she showed discomfort. She also said he hugged her “just a little bit too long.”
Hill said that Biden put his hand on her shoulder and dropped it down her back too far when she was taking a photograph with him at a fundraising event in Minneapolis in 2012. She said the interaction made her “very uncomfortable.”
“Only he knows his intent,” Hill said, and “if something makes you feel uncomfortable, you have to feel able to say it.”
This makes four women who have brought up questions over Biden’s touchy habits, including Lucy Flores, who alleged Biden inappropriately came up behind her at a campaign event in 2004, rested his hands on her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. Amy Lappos, 43, said Biden touched her inappropriately at a political fundraiser in 2009 when she was a congressional aide to Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.
Images of Biden’s close interaction with women have been widely shared before, but have been reupped since Flores came forward with an account of the incident in a piece published Friday.
Some who have been featured in questionable photographs with Biden say the pictured interactions have been misrepresented and misinterpreted as inappropriate.
As Biden weighs a presidential run, some have expressed concern that this could harm his chances should he choose to compete for the Democratic nomination.
Others, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, feel the allegations should not force Biden to not run.
“I don’t think it’s disqualifying,” Pelosi told Politico, adding that Biden should be less handsy and “join the straight arm club.”
