Elizabeth Warren says Joe Biden 'needs to answer' for inappropriate touching allegations

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who is running for president in 2020, addressed the recent article by former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores claiming that former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately kissed and touched her during a 2014 campaign event.

Warren became the first 2020 candidate to address the accusations, saying Biden needed to answer for them, but admitted she was not entirely familiar with the specific claim.

"So I don't know anything about this," Warren said. "But obviously if there's a problem, then Joe Biden needs to answer."

-snip-

Biden's behavior has been thrust back into the spotlight as he considers running for president in 2020, which would be the third attempt of his political career.

Still, many national polls place Biden at the very top for Democratic voters. According to a recent INSIDER poll, Biden benefits from near-universal name recognition, with 82% of respondents having heard of him.

In addition, Democratic voters are most confident in Biden's ability to unseat President Donald Trump in the general election, with 71% believing he would win in a head-to-head matchup. Just 5% said they think Biden would lose to Trump.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/elizabeth-warren-says-joe-biden-needs-to-answer-for-inappropriate-touching-allegations/ar-BBVqyz4?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=spartandhp

[Kurt V.]

1. i haven't declared yet but probably warren.

[shanny]

2. media once again injecting their preference for a horserace into national affairs

[sellitman]

3. I am disappointed in Elizabeth.

We lost a good Senator from Minnesota this way.

[NanceGreggs]

5. Exactly. n/t

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. That's been my thinking

Maybe there's more to come out. I'll make a judgement then.

Joe's a fighter. Who's ever nominated needs to be one to figuratively at least to take on pussy grabber Trump.

[TruckFump]

27. Totally agree. EOM

[workinclasszero]

35. No way can a Roger Stone setup of Al Franken

Last edited Sun Mar 31, 2019, 04:21 PM - Edit history (1)

be compared to Joe Bidens' history which is all over YouTube.

[NanceGreggs]

4. "So I don't know anything about this."

Shouldn't that be your first clue that you're in no position to opine on it?

[Jarqui]

9. The headline is misleading

"So I don't know anything about this," Warren said. "But obviously if there's a problem, then Joe Biden needs to answer."

She conditioned her response so it's not totally bad on her part given they blindsided her on it.

I am inclined to be concerned like sellitman above.
This is like eating our young.

What the Republicans put in the Oval Office and on the Supreme Court is so much worse.

Every one of our 20 something candidates has flaws like the rest of us. We better be careful and take care of them or the real criminals will get another four years in the White House.

[NanceGreggs]

13. I read the full quote.

The minute you say "I don't know anything about this", you should stop right there.

[Instant Liberal]

14. That's why she said he had to answer

Since when do we dismiss accusations because they're not politically convenient. The only people who know anything about this are Biden and the assembly woman. How do you presume things go forward?

[emulatorloo]

15. No, she said "I don't know anything about this but obviously if there's a problem"

She doesn’t know anything about it. I’m with Nance I am afraid, when I don’t know about something I am not going to talk about it until I do.

[NanceGreggs]

16. Since when do we believe accusations ...

... just because they're made - especially when they're made when politically convenient?

[Jarqui]

18. She's at a campaign event

Trying to be accessible

A reporter asks her a question in a media scrum. It's not a place where she can meet with her staff to debate and craft the perfect answer.

Candidates are pressed to try to be open and answer media questions - not to brush them off while campaigning. They want good press and to do that, the candidate is in the mode to try to give them decent answers for their articles or coverage.

She's caught by surprise, has a millisecond to think about it and does the best she can with the answer. Not a perfect answer where she might have stopped after her first phrase as you suggest but not terribly unreasonable or grossly wrong either.

She's not a robot. You ever been in one of those situations? I have more than once. I'm very relaxed in public speaking so it is not due to suffering from a bundles of nerves. But it is not easy. They haven't got time for a long explanation. Has to be pretty short and to the point. It's the Bill Barr problem but instead of condensing hundreds of pages (or a lot) into four pages, you are condensing them into four sentences if you are lucky. Your mind might shift into going a million miles per hour. I've come away thinking about how I could have answered their questions better. It seems rushed and over so quickly. JFK was very quick witted for them. Obama more verbose but could slow the tempo down. In a few months, Elizabeth with be better at it.

A bigger misdeed to me was the headline you cited:
Elizabeth Warren says Joe Biden 'needs to answer' for inappropriate touching allegations
vs the original story
‘If There’s a Problem, Then Joe Biden Needs To Answer,’ Elizabeth Warren Says of Allegation During Iowa Stop
https://whotv.com/2019/03/29/if-theres-a-problem-then-joe-biden-needs-to-answer-elizabeth-warren-says-of-allegation-during-iowa-stop/
- considerably softer with the condition.

[Grasswire2]

6. There ought to be some sort of statute of limitations on this kind of...

.....decades later complaint weaponized in the media against a prominent person. Did she object in public at the time?

[Omaha Steve]

25. 2014 is decades ago?

[forthemiddle]

30. Is this just for politicians we agree with

Or should theirs be a new rule across the board?
Would Dr Ford agree with you? I bet Justice Kavanaugh would.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

36. A statute, you say? Huh.

[RDANGELO]

7. If this is going to be an issue, it's better for it to come out now then the general election.

Maybe the accusations from Flores are politically motivated; maybe they are not. This is just the day after the first allegation. Lets see what happens. It occurs to me that there are probably more women who felt violated by his behavior. Maybe I am wrong. The worst thing that could happen is that he gets the nomination and it explodes into a big issue.

[quickesst]

10. "So I don't know anything about this"

I know more than Elizabeth Warren does about this. I did not express an opinion until I did. You would think that someone wanting to be the president of the United States would want to know SOMETHING before expressing an opinion. Elizabeth Warren is way behind Joe Biden in the polls even though he has not even declared yet. This opinion by Elizabeth Warren is the equivalent of throwing some shit up against the wall, and hoping something sticks. Not a good look for her.

[jberryhill]

23. What's wrong with saying ask him about it?

[quickesst]

24. Well....

For one thing, that's not what she said.

"So I don't know anything about this," Warren said. "But obviously if there's a problem, then Joe Biden needs to answer."

That statement is a classic example of being ignorant and accusatory in the same sentence.

[defacto7]

11. I'm disappointed in Warren for stepping into this.

She's one of my top choices. To step into what amounts to tabloid politics is a huge mistake. She should have said "I have no comment at this time" and let it play out.

[trueblue2007]

19. I AGREE WITH YOUR STATEMENT .. She should have said "I have no comment at this time" and let it go

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. Aw, man, heeeere we go again.

Not. Good. Elizabeth.
Not. Good.

[jberryhill]

22. What, in your opinion, was an appropriate response?

Last edited Sun Mar 31, 2019, 09:46 AM - Edit history (1)

Ignore the question she was asked?

[TheCowsCameHome]

32. See post #4 - perfect reply.

If you don't know anything about the situation, butt out.

[backtoblue]

20. I agree with Elizabeth

"So I don't know anything about this," Warren said. "But obviously if there's a problem, then Joe Biden needs to answer."

I don't know anything about the allegations against Joe either. I also think that if someone thinks it's a problem, then Joe should be the one to answer those questions. Seems like a pretty simple, nonaccusatory answer.

Imho, the headline is a misleading nonstory.

[jberryhill]

21. Calm down

Last edited Sun Mar 31, 2019, 09:45 AM - Edit history (1)

They pressed her for a comment and her comment is essentially to say that it’s up to Joe to respond to questions about Joe.

I can’t believe how worked up people get over these kinds of elicited comments.

[Omaha Steve]

28. Well said

[TruckFump]

26. Please stop!

We need to unite, not divide. If he is our nominee, you are harming the party.

[d_b]

29. More of this hip hugging, hair sniffing bullshit is coming

Gonna be a fun election cycle; looking forward to 4 more years of dipshit

[Lazy Daisy]

31. AND here comes the bus for Elizabeth

A Democratic man gets called out for his behavior, a Democratic woman responds with less than a "oh it's OK because he's one of ours and we know he's not like that and she's the one who gets run over. nice.

[ecstatic]

33. I don't know anything yet, but this is why I don't support EW.

She's always so quick to kick people under the bus before having any facts. That's not how a leader behaves.

[BlueWI]

34. Elizabeth Warren is a leader!

She's an effective US Senator and did an outstanding job as an agency administrator during the Obama administration.

She made a statement that some disagree with, for their own reasons. But her stellar accomplishments across her career still stand.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

37. How bout "no comment right now," or "I dont know anything about this, let me look into it and

get back to you."

If you don't know about it, then what more needs to be said than that?

I have no doubt shes been a stellar senator, but a job as prez requires extraordinary communication skills and ability to handle the media. Which has its own agenda btw - they will always play up conflict and controversy to get more hits. That's the nature of the beast. Sex sells, controversy sells.