Ally Coll, a former Democratic staffer, told The Washington Post in April 2019 that when she met Biden in 2008, he complimented her smile, squeezed her shoulders, and held her "for a beat too long."

Coll initially brushed off the incident, but she told The Post that reflecting on it now, she believes Biden's actions were inappropriate.

"There's been a lack of understanding about the way that power can turn something that might seem innocuous into something that can make somebody feel uncomfortable," Coll told The Post in April 2019.

Sofie Karasek, a progressive organizer, was photographed holding hands and touching foreheads with Biden at the 2016 Academy Awards. Karasek said she felt Biden violated her personal space in that interaction.

Karasek was one of dozens of sexual-assault survivors who stood on stage while Lady Gaga performed, "Til It Happens To You," a song concerning rape and sexual assault, at the 2016 Academy Awards.

A photograph from the event of the then-22 year old and Biden holding hands and touching foreheads went viral, but Karasek told The Washington Post in 2019 that she felt Biden had encroached on her personal space.

She also said she didn't think Biden's 2019 apology video adequately addressed the allegations against him. Biden never explicitly apologized for his actions, and Karasek said he "didn't take ownership in the way that he needs to."

"He emphasized that he wants to connect with people and, of course, that's important," she said. "But again, all of our interactions and friendships are a two-way street … Too often it doesn't matter how the woman feels about it or they just assume that they're fine with it."

Vail Kohnert-Yount, a former White House intern, said when she met Biden in 2013, he "put his hand on the back of my head and pressed his forehead to my forehead." Kohnert-Yount also said Biden called her a "pretty girl."

Kohnert-Yount told The Washington Post in April 2019 she was "so shocked" by her encounter with Biden that "it was hard to focus on what he was saying."

She said she wouldn't classify Biden's actions as sexual misconduct, but added that it's "the kind of inappropriate behavior that makes many women feel uncomfortable and unequal in the workplace."


In June 2019, Biden told the brothers of a 13-year-old girl to "keep the guys away" from her at a campaign event.

The Boston Globe reported that the interaction occurred when Biden met a voter at a coffee shop before a campaign event in Iowa.

When Biden met the voter's granddaughter, he asked her age. After she replied that she was 13 years old, Biden turned to her brothers and said, "You've got one job here, keep the guys away from your sister."


[Post edited by JMHoo at 08/14/2020 09:40AM]