Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said a recent town hall that she has no regrets for calling on Sen. Al Franken to resign over allegations of inappropriate sexual harassment that surfaced last year.
But she seems to be applying a different set of standards for the party’s current frontrunner and fellow primary competitor Joe Biden, who faces allegations of inappropriate touching and sniffing that Gillibrand believes “are very different” than the claims against the former Saturday Night Live comedian.
Asked about women coming forward against @JoeBiden, @SenGillibrand says, “allegations against Vice President Biden are very different.” pic.twitter.com/2hks8i7nor
— Cara Korte (@CaraKorte) July 23, 2019
“Asked about women coming forward against @JoeBiden, @SenGillibrand says, ‘allegations against Vice President Biden are very different,” CBS News campaign reporter Cara Korte posted to Twitter with a video of Gillibrand’s response.
“It’s very hard hold somebody accountable who is gifted or talented in what they do, but have to have the courage to do it anyway,” Gillibrand said, referring to senators who called on Franken to resign in 2017, several of which recently told The New Yorker it was a decision they regret.
“Do you think that vice president Biden has been held appropriately accountable?” a woman off camera asked Gillibrand.
A blank stare, several blinks, then: “You know that vice president Biden’s allegations against him are very different. The women who have come forward said they felt uncomfortable. They said they didn’t feel it was sexual harassment or sexual in nature.
“But I think it’s important for us to recognize as Democrats that women and men who have felt marginalized or dismissed or demeaned or harassed have a right to come forward and have a space to be heard,” she said, dodging the question.
The New Yorker feature on Franken called into question the allegations against the former senator from Minnesota and featured admissions from seven of his former colleagues, including five current senators, who said they regret participating in the call for his resignation.
At the Mic/Bustle Digital Group town hall in Manhattan on Monday, Gillibrand defended her role as the first senator to call Franken out for numerous allegations of sexual joking and flirting, essentially the beginning to the end of his political career. Franken requested an ethics hearing but ultimately resigned before the public learned the facts, a decision he told The New Yorker he “absolutely” regrets.
WATCH: @SenGillibrand gives full throated response to @JaneMayerNYer’a reports on fmr Sen. Al Franken. Gillibrand, who led outcry for Franken to resign last January, is asked if she regrets her actions. “No, I do not have any regrets.” pic.twitter.com/IWAtRXNJFA
— Cara Korte (@CaraKorte) July 22, 2019
“Senator Franken wasn’t denied anything,” Gillibrand barked. “It’s his decision and his alone whether to wait out his ethics committee hearing, whether to wait for his next election. The decision I made was whether or not to carry his water and stay silent.
“And given eight allegations, two since he was a senator, and the eighth one being a congressional staffer, I couldn’t stay silent,” she said.
The real victims in the whole debacle, Gillibrand, is poor female lawmakers like herself, who stand bravely in the face of corruption and bad men to vanquish evil and save humanity.
Asked to respond to current Senate colleagues who told @JaneMayerNYer they regret calling for Franken’s resignation (Leahy, Duckworth, Udall, Merkley, King) @SenGillibrand says, “It’s their right to change their mind.” pic.twitter.com/KQNntcq2JW
— Cara Korte (@CaraKorte) July 23, 2019
“There’s no prize for someone who tries to hold accountable a powerful man who is good at his day job,” Gillibrand preached in Manhattan. “But we should do it anyway.
“So no. I don’t have any regrets,” she said.
“Let’s be clear, there is absolutely a double standard. Women are asked to hold accountable their colleagues; the men are not. Who is being held accountable for Al Franken’s decision to resign? Women senators, including me. It’s outrageous. It’s absurd.”
While most of Franken’s allegations are based on unsubstantiated claims he touched or attempted to kiss several women, Biden’s creepy behavior is on video for all to see, from sniffing and kissing young girls to rubbing and nuzzling the wives and family of his colleagues during public appearances.
There’s so many instances of cringe-worthy conduct from Biden that folks have made highlight reels for YouTube, including “Creepy Joe Biden’s Greatest Hits,” “Creepy Uncle Joe ‘The Sniffer,’” “Creepy Compilation of Joe Biden,” “Compilation of Job Biden being Creepy,” and numerous others.
There’s also videos of people reacting to the former vice president’s bad behavior, as well as countless meme and parody videos.
After several women publicly accused Biden of invading their personal space over the years, “apologized” they felt that way and continued his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, largely ducking the scrutiny Franken and other lawmakers have faced for similar behavior.
Instead of apologizing to his victims, Biden has since made light of his past conduct, and he’s continued with his “tactile politics.”
On Saturday, the 76-year-old career politician kissed his granddaughter turned staffer on the lips at a campaign event in Nevada.
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