Joe Biden has recently been accused of sexual assault by a former Senate aide. 

This accusation comes at a key point in Biden’s campaign, in the midst of his publicized search for a woman as vice president. He also represents a larger Democratic campaign calling for a zero-tolerance standard for abuse toward women. 

Female voters are thought to be extremely important to Biden’s campaign. Many women felt alienated during President Donald Trump’s campaign with the video of him talking with Billy Bush about his supposed seduction of a woman playing repeatedly on the news and yet no real action was taken against him. 

This accusation against Biden is eliciting similar emotions through voters, but it should also be acknowledged that this is something people have been talking about for a while now. 

Biden has always been “touchy.” 

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote an article about how this touchy behavior by Biden might actually be put to an end. 

The reason I wrote the initial article was because two women had come forward about uncomfortable situations Biden had put them in. 

According to an article by the BBC, “Lucy Flores said Mr. Biden kissed her on the back of her head at a campaign event in 2014” and “Amy Lappos, a former aide to a Democratic congressman, says Mr. Biden touched her face with both hands and rubbed noses with her in 2009.”

Biden’s response to these allegations was that he believed he had done nothing wrong.

“I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort,” Biden said according to BBC. “And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.” 

These accusations happened years later, as Tara Reade’s incident is said to have occurred in 1993, according to The Cut. 

Yet, Biden’s response to the situation is largely the same. 

According to The New York Times, Biden fully denied the accusations before going on to push the democratic idea that women need to be heard in these situations. 

“No, it is not true, I’m saying unequivocally it never, never happened,” Biden said. “Believing women means taking the woman’s claim seriously, but in the end, in every case, the truth is what matters. And in this case, the truth is, the claims are false.”

Many Republicans are arming themselves with this new information against Biden, but let us not forget that at least 25 women have accused Trump of sexual assault. 

Coming to the realization that, no matter which party wins this election, the next president has a certain level of disrespect and disregard for women is disheartening, but not a surprise.

This is the world we live in. 

Yet, I believe Biden’s search for a female vice president is still a sign for the future. Biden acknowledges that the democratic party is ready for a woman to lead and that is the future I am looking to.

Kuchta can be reached at [email protected].