"Our social norms have begun to change — they've shifted. The boundaries of protected personal space have been reset and I get it. I get it. I hear what they're saying," he said in a video posted Wednesday.
Former vice president and potential 2020 presidential hopeful Joe Biden is addressing claims that he acted inappropriately towards multiple women and is vowing to "be more mindful" in a new video posted Wednesday to his Twitter account.
"Today I want to talk about gestures of support and encouragement that I've made to women and some men that have made them uncomfortable," he said to start the clip. "In my career, I've always tried to make a human connection — that's my responsibility I think. I shake hands, I hug people, I grab men and women by the shoulders and say, 'You can do this.'"
Biden explained that he's always been this way and that it's his way of showing he cares, and over the years he's found that people have reached out to him for "solace and comfort."
"I've never thought of politics as cold and antiseptic. I've always thought it was about connecting with people," he said, adding, "Now, it's all about taking selfies together. Our social norms have begun to change — they've shifted. The boundaries of protected personal space have been reset and I get it. I get it. I hear what they're saying. I understand it, and I'll be much more mindful — that's my responsibility and I'll meet it."
Biden said he still believes that "governing, or life for that matter, is about connecting with people," but that he'd be more mindful of personal space in the future.
Amy Lappos, a former aide to Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said Monday that Biden touched her face with both hands and rubbed noses in 2009. Former Nevada politician Lucy Flores penned a magazine essay last week in which she wrote that Biden kissed her on the back of the head in 2014. Two more women told The New York Times on Tuesday that they also felt uncomfortable in some interactions with the former vice president.
Bill Russo, Biden's spokesman, didn't directly respond to Lappos' allegations, instead referring to a Sunday statement in which Biden said he doesn't believe he has acted inappropriately during his long public life. The former vice president said in that statement: "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."