Oh no, Joe.
Vice President Joe Biden got up close and personal with the wife of newly sworn-in U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, massaging her shoulders and tenderly whispering in her ear.
At Carter’s swearing-in ceremony Tuesday afternoon, after Biden administered the oath of office to the new secretary, the close-talking veep proceeded to get handsy with Carter’s wife, Stephanie.
As the DOD chief addressed reporters, Biden was seen standing closely behind Stephanie Carter and gently whispering into her ear. He then placed his hands gingerly on her shoulders as she gave an annoyed smirk.
Later, news emerged that Biden had only been trying to comfort her after she slipped and fell on ice outside the White House earlier in the day.
The bizarre incident, however, isn’t the first time the notoriously gaffe-prone veep has gotten a little too close.
While on the campaign trail in September 2012, Biden cozied up to a woman at a biker bar in Ohio, prompting a round of amazed stares from the motorcyclists present. The awkward-looking contact lasted nearly 30 seconds.
Hours later, while addressing reporters at a summit on combating terror, Biden went off script after citing efforts in Minneapolis to prevent terrorists recruiting teens from the city’s large Somali community.
Biden noted the smaller Somali community in his hometown of Wilmington, Del.
“If you ever come to the train station with me, you’ll notice that I have great relationships with them because there’s an awful lot of them driving cabs and are friends of mine,” said Biden, who often commutes by train. “For real. I am not being solicitous. I’m being serious.”
In 2013, Biden got extra friendly with a member of the media, tightly embracing The Hill’s White House correspondent Amie Parnes in a holiday photo.
And in January, some mused that Biden got a little too close to the 13-year-old daughter of Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons at a ceremonial swearing-in.
With News Wire Services
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