Nancy Pelosi: Joe Biden is not 'disqualified from being president' by recent allegations of inappropriate touching
Should Joe Biden abandon potential 2020 run in wake of inappropriate behavior accusations?
Biden accused of unwanted snuggling, rubbing noses; reaction and analysis from SteynOnline.com's Mark Steyn.
Recent allegations made against former Vice President Joe Biden do not disqualify him from being president, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi weighed in on the accusations of inappropriate behavior surrounding the ex-VP on Monday.
When asked if she believes the claims mean Biden cannot be president, Pelosi replied: “No. No, I do not.
“I don’t think that this disqualifies him from being president.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to a Democratic Caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Pelosi and leading House Democrats are unveiling broad legislation today to shore up the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“Not at all.”
Pelosi’s comments came on the same day a second woman accused Biden of inappropriate touching, further complicating the prospective presidential candidate's political future and intensifying criticism over his previous public behavior with women.
Amy Lappos, 43, first told the Hartford Courant in an interview published Monday that Biden grabbed her during a $1,000-per-plate October 2009 fundraiser for Connecticut Democrat Rep. Jim Himes. Lappos, who initially posted about the episode on Facebook on Sunday, was working as an aide for Himes at the time.
“It wasn’t sexual, but he did grab me by the head," Lappos told the paper. “He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth.”
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Biden with Stephanie Carter in February 2015 at the White House. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, File)
A Biden spokesman referred Fox News' requests for comment on the new allegation to Biden's earlier statements, in which Biden and his team strongly denied accusations the former vice president acted inappropriately around women. Still, they vowed to listen to any allegations or concerns.
Lappos, who provided Fox News with photos she said shows herself and Biden at the event, charged that the episode occurred inside the Greenwich home of an affordable housing developer, and that Himes was not present at the time.
Lappos' accusations came on the heels of a similar claim by former Nevada lieutenant governor candidate Lucy Flores, who accused Biden of inappropriate conduct during a 2014 campaign event. Flores alleged in an article Friday that Biden "plant[ed] a big slow kiss on the back of my head."
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In a statement to Fox News Monday afternoon, Lappos said she was speaking out "because I am so disappointed in my party, the Democratic Party, and the way we have treated Lucy Flores. ... Biden’s statement in response to Lucy’s article was not only disturbing it was disgusting. I stand my Lucy and any woman with the courage to come forward regarding men and the way they treat women."
Fox News’ Gregg Re, Andrew O'Reilly and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.