(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Joe Biden left Twitter users unsettled after the resurfacing of an awkward interference with a frightened young girl during a public event.
The incident, captured on video, occurred during Biden’s trip to Finland and ignited a wave of criticism against Biden, who in recent years apologized for intrusive displays of affection toward women.
In the video, which quickly went viral, Biden is seen greeting a group of individuals and then nibbling on a small child who rejected Biden’s approach.
Twitter users wasted no time expressing their discomfort and alarm over the incident. Many found the President’s actions inappropriate, with former Trump advisor Sebastian Gorka saying, “Biden is a creep! Little girl is terrified after Biden bizarrely nibbles on her back and leans in to sniff her.” Political commentator and former sheriff David Clarke echoed Gorka’s remarks, saying, “This man needs serious help.”
This would not mark the first time Biden comes under fire for apparently making women uncomfortable. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Tara Reade, a former Biden congressional aide, accused the then-Delaware senator of sexual assault in 1993.
Several videos showing Biden coming awkwardly close to individuals, including children, have gone viral in recent years.
However, Biden in 2019, before formally announcing his challenge to former President Donald Trump’s re-election, issued a two-minute video apologizing for his tendencies of inappropriate touching. Biden, however, has denied ever assaulting Reade.
“I want to talk about gestures of support that I’ve made to women and some men that have made them uncomfortable,” Biden said in 2019. “I’ve always tried to make a human connection. That’s my responsibility, I think.”
Biden added, “The boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset. I get it. I get it. I hear what they’re saying and I understand it,” he said. “I’ll be much more mindful. That’s my responsibility and I’ll meet it.
Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying. Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it. pic.twitter.com/Ya2mf5ODts
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 3, 2019
