Joe Biden at New Hampshire rally criticizes ‘abuse of power’: ‘I’ve never liked bullies’

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden made his first visit to New Hampshire as a 2020 presidential candidate on Monday and took on several of his vulnerabilities, vowing an upcoming speech on environmental policy and tackling the issue of unwanted touching.

Mr. Biden, whose handsy approach to politicking has rubbed some voters the wrong way, said no man has the right to touch women without their consent, as he lamented the perils of “abuse of power.”

He also said his environmental speech is in the works, answering the complaint from Sen. Bernard Sanders and others that he has not been aggressive enough in his approach to combating climate change.

Leading in the polls, Mr. Biden is looking to fend off the first round of attacks and address lingering concerns about whether his decadeslong record holds up to scrutiny in the #MeToo era.

Mr. Biden, who has tried to distance himself from other parts of his legislative record, rushed Monday to embrace his role in the passage of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, aimed at combating domestic violence. The act was part of a broader crime bill he helped write.

He said he was criticized in the past for theorizing that abuse of women can result in post-traumatic stress disorder akin to how it afflicts soldiers on a battlefield but added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has research backing up his claim.

“If every time you come home and the meal’s not ready on time and your husband smacks your head against a wall, guess what? It’s the same thing,” Mr. Biden said while speaking at a pizza parlor in Hampton.

He also cited wisdom from his father, who said abuse of power is the “greatest sin of all” and that a “cardinal sin” is for a man to raise his hand to a child or a woman.

Mr. Biden said men have a duty to act and speak out when they see potential abuse. He used the example of a college student seeing a fraternity member try to lead an inebriated coed upstairs.

“If you don’t go over and say, ’No, no, no — not in this house,’ then you’re a damn coward. I don’t want to hear it,” he said.

While preparing to enter the race last month, Mr. Biden faced accusations from a number of women that he had hugged, sniffed or touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.

While polling suggests Mr. Biden is in control of the Democratic primary and President Trump has seemed eager to get through the primaries and begin his campaign, the former vice president took a more circumspect approach at the Hampton event.

He didn’t spend much time invoking Mr. Trump directly. Instead, he talked up other policy priorities such as rolling back Republican tax cuts, shoring up Obamacare and investing in education.

Mr. Biden said Americans should be allowed to buy into a Medicare-type plan but retain private insurance if they choose. That contrasts with Mr. Sanders’ demand for a government-run “Medicare for All” plan.

Mr. Sanders is pressing Mr. Biden on climate change, saying there can be no “middle ground” on the issue. That was a response to a Reuters report that Mr. Biden was looking for a middle-ground policy between the social upheaval strategy of the left and the confusion on the right.

Mr. Biden said Monday that he has been a leader.

“We need an environmental revolution,” he said. “We do need to finish this green revolution in a way that’s rational, and we can do it, afford it and get it done now.”

Mr. Sanders was scheduled to appear at a Green New Deal rally Monday evening at Howard University in the District of Columbia, as was liberal heartthrob Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

An official with the group behind the Monday event said Mr. Biden could lose support among younger voters if he doesn’t follow through with a sufficient plan to tackle climate change.

“If Joe Biden wants to be relevant right now with young voters … he should back the Green New Deal and say that he won’t take oil and gas money,” Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said on MSNBC.