Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Wednesday that Joe Biden’s unwanted touching is inappropriate and the former vice president may “lose some teeth” if he was ever treated in the same manner.
“I’ve said this before, just because you’re accused of something doesn’t mean you’re guilty of it,” Kennedy told reporters at the Capitol. “This is America and you do have a right to due process.”
“On the other hand, this is no country for creepy old men and it needs to stop,” he said. “Do I consider it inappropriate to smell someone’s hair, to get so close that I smell their hair? Yes! I mean, duh! You know, somebody gets close enough to smell my hair … they may lose some teeth. I mean, it’s inappropriate.”
In the last week, four women have accused Biden of touching them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.
Lucy Flores, a former Nevada assemblywoman, accused Biden of kissing her on the back of the head after smelling her hair at a campaign rally in 2014.
Amy Lappos, a former congressional aide to Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said Biden grabbed her head and rubbed noses with her at a fundraising event in 2009.
Caitlyn Caruso, a former college student and sexual assault survivor, said Biden placed his hand on her thigh and hugged her “just a little bit too long” at an event on sexual assault when she was 19.
D.J. Hill, a writer, said when she met Biden at a fundraising event in 2012, he put his hand on her shoulder and then dropped it down her back when she and her husband took a photo with the then-vice president.
Biden said in a statement Sunday he does not believe he has acted inappropriately toward women but he is willing to listen.
“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.
[Related: Pelosi: Biden needs to understand ‘it isn’t what you intended, it’s how it was received’]
