President Biden raised eyebrows this week when he got a bit too close for comfort to a young woman during an event in Irvine, Calif.
After delivering remarks Friday at Irvine Valley College where he talked about his administration’s plans to reduce inflation and lower drug costs, Biden stopped for photos with a young woman, put his arm on her shoulder and offered her some unsolicited dating advice.
“Now a very important thing I told my daughters and granddaughters — no serious guys until you’re 30!” he told the unnamed woman — leaning in close.
“Ok,” she said, awkwardly laughing off the remark. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The moment was captured by reporter Kalen D’Almeida and posted to Twitter where it has since been viewed more than 2.8 million times. D’Almeida said members of the Secret Service had tried to prevent him from filming.
The line is a Biden staple. In March the president offered near-identical advice to a group of girls at a Philadelphia elementary school — causing similarly awkward laughter.
During his presidential campaign, Biden faced renewed scrutiny for his history of getting up close and personal with young women in encounters which often included smelling their hair — earning him the Republican nickname “Creepy Joe.”
In 2015, comedian Jon Stewart took Biden to task for the behavior which at the time he called “groping.”
