‘The View’ co-host Abby Huntsman asks if we can still ‘hug each other’ after Biden allegations

Apr 03, 2019

 “The View” co-host Abby Huntsman asked if we’re reaching a point in society where can’t hug each other anymore.

“Are we going to get to a place where we can’t shake hands?” she asked. “(Where) we can’t hug each other?”

Context: Huntsman’s comments follow accusations that former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately touched a Nevada state lawmaker, former Nevada Democratic Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, at a 2014 event, according to The Hill.

Huntsman also questioned Flores’ motive bringing up the incident five years later with Biden likely close to launching a 2020 presidential bid.

• “I do wonder if she could have sent him a letter,” Huntsman said. “Send him a personal note to say, ‘Hey, this happened a few years ago. Now I feel confident in telling you about it. I don’t want to make this public.’ I always wonder when these things come out, what is the motive for this person? Is it simply to let people know that I was uncomfortable, which you could have done in private? Or is it because you want someone else to win?”

Whoopi Goldberg, a fellow “View” co-host, defended Huntsman’s comments as well.

• “For me, these things are not Democratic or Republican,” Goldberg said. “I want women to get to the place where they can say, ‘Hey, you just made me uncomfortable.’ This idea that you have to tiptoe away from this, you do not have to carry it. If someone makes you uncomfortable, tell them.”

• “You have to stop mischaracterizing stuff. Don’t sit and wait and say ‘I’m uncomfortable’ on national television,” she added. “Because it makes us suspect of your thoughts.”

Context: Flores wrote an op-ed for The Cut last week that said Biden made her feel uncomfortable when he sniffed her hair and kissed the back of her head.

Biden denied the allegation that he acted inappropriately, Vox reported.

A second allegation of inappropriate touching surfaced on Monday after a Connecticut woman said Biden touched her inappropriately at a fundraiser in 2009, according to the Hartford Courant.