“I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” he told reporters about his hugs and kisses to women over the years. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I’ve never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman.”
Speaking at an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers conference in Washington, the former vice president used his first public remarks since the complaints emerged to try to push past the controversy that overtook his expected presidential campaign in the past week.
In his address, he largely stuck to his long-running political themes, highlighting the importance of uniting a divided nation and restoring the “great American middle class” — save for two notable asides.
As he took the stage, he hugged Lonnie R. Stephenson, the union’s president. “I just want you to know I had permission to hug Lonnie,” he said, and the largely male crowd burst into laughter.
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The joke came as Biden was fending off criticism from some Democrats who worry the 76-year-old is out of step with the party’s mores around gender and race. In recent days, he has struggled to address accusations from women that his hugs, kisses and other expressions of his physically intimate style of politicking were unwelcome.
Even as Biden sought to move past the complaints, they were plainly on his mind.
Several minutes into his remarks, Biden spotted children in the audience. After welcoming them to the stage, Biden wrapped his arm around a young boy. “By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” he said, to laughter.
“Everyone knows I like kids more than people,” he added.
He used the bulk of his speech to critique economic inequality and partisanship, offering an argument for American renewal that could form the basis of his possible presidential campaign. He also leveled a full-throated indictment of President Donald Trump.
“This country was not built by Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers,” he said. “It was built by the great American middle class.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.